


Unbounded Love

by GabrielLaVedier



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, M/M, Romance, Social Issues, Taboo, Transvestite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 20:50:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12943611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabrielLaVedier/pseuds/GabrielLaVedier
Summary: Love in Zootopia used to be hard-headed and set in a traditional direction. That no longer suffices for those who saw love blossom between species in the public eye. Old ones who hid love, young and brash ones bucking trends, they all exist and all deserve their day in the sun.





	1. Cats and Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> The central conceit of this story is that a double watershed moment happened when Judy married Nick and Gazelle married one of her tiger dancers, both in very open ceremonies. Later chapters more minutely examine the effect it had on society in Zootopia.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all predators are united in their own minority status. Some mammals think they are not all created equal.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story One- Cats and Dogs**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

Tension between predators and prey were an obvious and long-simmering problem in Zootopia and the wider world. But there was no basic unity between the members of those groups. Prey had tension withing their ranks, and predators had their own quarrels inside the tightly defined groups, usually precluding any kind of friendly relations. Among the most strident was the tension between the Amur tigers and the wolves. It was more than a canine and feline rivalry; tradition held an arrogant pride in those tigers over lowly pack canines, and the wolves had a disdain for those that looked down upon them.

Any kind of relationship between the two mammals would start unbalanced on some level. Which made the sight of Daji Hua keeping close company with Aloycious Wulfmeyer all the more unusual. She stood tall and proud, always in loud colors, typically in a long dress or skirt and blouse. The gray-and-black wolf always just looked happy to be with her, looking up with fawning adoration, always in drab outfits and always baggy hoodies and long pants. She never seemed to give much in the way off affection, despite all the adoring nuzzles and kind actions he performed.

Daji lived in a modest apartment in the heart of Savannah Central, paid for by her parents while she loafed about being useless but notable. It was on the upper side of modest for a large mammal, more plain than poor. The door opened into a central living room, which blended into a kitchen area that had a large window over the sink. Two short hallways angled quickly in the direction of the far wall where the two bedrooms of the apartment were located.

The location was plainly decorated, a claw-marked couch and perforated chairs sat on a worn rug, all facing an expensive home entertainment system. A square table with two chairs sat in the middle of the kitchen area, just allowing the ability to move around and cook. Photographs consisted mainly of shots of Daji, with a few other family members scattered around. There were none of Al.

When she arrived home she scowled, seeing she was not alone. She shared the apartment with her sister, Nugua, when the other tigress was off from Zootopia University. The younger tigress was a confirmed bookworm, a bespectacled feline with a retiring nature, a penchant for loose jeans and tees, and a body that surpassed her sister in size and musculature. She was some kind of genetic anomaly, naturally large and strong, despite being a retiring intellectual.

"Your clinging is charming to the others but do not hold too tight when no one is looking," Daji growled out to Al, as they arrived home at the apartment.

"I'm sorry. I just like being close to you," Al replied, his tail flagging low but still wagging.

"You are useful for making others think well of me, and you obey. So continue to obey and know your place, wolf," Daji snarled.

"Daji, that's... that's not a kind way to treat him," Nugua muttered, half-hiding behind a large, hardback novel.

"That is not your place to say, Nugua; keep your eyes in your books and away from my matters," Daji replied, venom seeping into her words.

Al mouthed  _thank you_  and gave a warm smile, before turning a flat-eared and submissive look up to Daji. "I promise I'll do better. I just want to do what's best for you."

"And I will tell you what that is," Daji stated, forcibly grabbing his arms and pulling him up into a deep, forced kiss, her claws making soft but clear sounds as they poked through his loose sleeves and poked insistently at his arms. The heavy kiss ended with her practically throwing Al away, a sneer on her face. "Come. Now." She turned sharply and moved to her room, momentarily leaving Al and Nugua.

Al was practically hugging himself, softly rubbing his arms. He looked sheepishly over at Nugua, who still peeked over her book at him, the barest hint of a reddish flush showing on the pale parts of her nose. A roar from the room sent Al running to Daji, the door slamming behind him.

Nugua tried to lose herself in her book, but could not ignore the sounds from the room. Dominating roars, whimpers, and the sounds she hoped were carnal acts and not other forms of flesh impacting flesh matched to cries and begging.

* * *

"Why do you let this happen to you?" A week later. Nothing had changed, which became an increasing concern for Nugua. She would return to school after not much longer, and she would lose track of Al, leave him wholly alone with her sister. She was not doing anything, but there was some comfort in being able to watch over him. She thought her presence would at least hold back Daji somewhat.

"Let what happen? Nothing is happening," Al said, rather quickly. He pulled down the sleeves on his loose sweatshirt and his eyes darted quickly around the apartment living room, even though he knew it was only him and Nugua.

"I... I keep my eyes in my books, as Daji tells me. She is good at telling others what to do, isn't she? But I can still hear. I know she hurts you..."

"It's an accident!" Al yipped, hugging himself tighter. "She is just a very strong woman, and I'm very weak..."

"That's no reason to hurt you. You deserve respect," Nugua softly said.

Al hid his reddened snout in the folds of his baggy hoodie, looking shyly aside at Nugua. "I, uh... I was raised like every wolf out there. I learned a lot from the pack, but the thing that came through most of all was that I'd never hear any terms of respect from an Amur. My family said it's because they're arrogant. But I think it's really because I don't deserve it..."

"You do!" Nugua insisted, leaning forward and nearly leaping to her paws. She immediately regretted it, watching Al's reaction. He cringed backwards and lifted his hands up slightly, covering his face. "Oh! No no, I'm so sorry..."

"You didn't do anything. It's fine," Al said with a shaky smile pulled too wide. He shivered a little as he got comfortable again. "Just got surprised. I'm so weak and jumpy. I'm very lucky to have Daji."

"You said you never hear any terms of respect from one of us. Has Daji never told you kind things?" Nugua asked, a brow ridge raised.

"She tells me how good I am at doing what she wants, and that I make a good accessory. I make her look good and she has pity on me. It's wonderful to be needed," Al sighed.

"You're not a bracelet or a necklace, you're a mammal," Nugua insisted, running her finger over the spines of a few books before she found one in particular. "Here. Read it. Or, don't; I am not commanding you. But it would be good for you to have this."

Al took the book, nervously smiling as his fingers brushed against Nugua's own. "' _I know why the muzzled wolf howls_ '?" He read off the title with some incredulity.

"Toni Loboson felt trapped by a predator-negative society and expressed things few others have. Muzzles still exist, and yes are rarely used, but she looks on that as a tragedy and the heart of a discussion about feeling put-upon and trapped," Nugua explained, looking directly into Al's eyes, when he wasn't flicking them aside. "Please..."

The scrape of the key in the lock at the front door jolted both mammals, Al almost fumbling the book before he quickly hid it in his waistband, covered with his baggy hoodie. Daji looked on the two with narrowed eyes and a scowl. "What is this? Have you been doing something you should not?"

"We were discussing literature, sister. I missed the intellectual stimulation of discussions like this, which I had back at the university," Nugua explained.

"'Intellectual stimulation'? From him? Stop wasting your time, even if you can't help it," Daji spat. "Leave, wolf. And don't come unless you make certain I am here to receive you."

Al made no comment; he merely got to his paws, crouching a bit, tail low and ears flat, slinking out the door while holding his waistband.

Nugua watched the retreat with a sad look, and made an attempt to stare at her sister, eyes holding the gaze for a very short time before she looked away. "He has a name..."

"What was that?"

"He has a name," Nugua said, slightly louder.

"That is irrelevant. I will call him what I like. What will you do about it? Nothing. You're so weak and helpless. Mother and father indulge you too much. Why do you care about some lowly pack animal?"

"He's still worthy of respect, no matter what he is. He's not just a toy or accessory," Nugua huffed.

"The university is tainting your mind. Maybe you should stay there in a strange fantasy land. Here in the real world wolves are beneath us. Whatever else may be in society and life, this is the one truth above all else," Daji said, in a cold and guttural growl.

Something welled up inside Nugua, sending her standing to her full height. Even being the younger sister she stood half a head taller than Daji, with a broader build that was clearly visible. "It's not true. This is Zootopia; all mammals are equal. Rabbits and foxes are police, a predator was just mayor and now a rat is. Our family was wrong, and you remain wrong."

Daji did not flinch when confronted with her sister's bulk. She held a strong, glaring gaze before she turned aside to go to her room. "Believe what you will. You'll leave us be soon enough. Do not antagonize me or meddle in my affairs."

Nugua remained standing, starting to tremble as soon as her sister was out of sight. She sat down with a shiver, picking up a random book and starting to read, hoping to calm her nerves. Bigger and broader, but her sister's icy eyes could still break her like a twig.

* * *

Three days before Nugua was to return to the university she had filled the apartment with the subtle scent of buttered popcorn and the feel of tension as she grew ever more concerned by the fate of Al. Even if Daji could tell, she didn't react except to shoot contemptuous looks at her sister, hating her weakness all the more the longer her blind nervousness grew.

For his part, Al grew less fawning and servile, less clingy in public. That suited Daji at first, but he had begun questioning her decisions and speaking up more. That rankled her, as she had chosen the wolf to be a toy, not a bother. It had all been building the more he read from the book she saw him hiding in his baggy clothes.

Nugua looked over her book constantly, to Daji with her head angled up in a superior posture, arm out, the limb being brushed by Al, who looked vaguely disinterested. He dragged the brush slowly across the orange fur, tracing the contours of the muscles shifting beneath the skin. He kept the delicate touch he had always shown, grooming his girlfriend carefully but very automatically.

The slow, rustling brushing slowed to a halt, Al looking down at the brush in his hands. The pause lingered so long that Daji reluctantly opened one eye, the pupil slightly slitting as she looked down on the wolf. "Continue, wolf. You have been strident of late, and it does not speak well of you. Do your duty and continue to groom me."

It took Al a moment to answer, one hand rubbing his arm, the other placed over the book in his waistband. "No..."

"What did you say?"

"No... because you hurt me. Why do you hurt me like this?" Al asked.

"What are you babbling about? Something has changed you and I don't like it," Daji snarled, turning both slitted eyes on Al.

He started to pull his hoodie up, but hesitated before it crossed his waistband. Instead, he pulled up a sleeve, showing the dark bruises beneath the gray portions of his fur, spaced perfectly to show the meaty grip of a tigress. "I don't deserve this. This isn't right. Predators are already hurt, do we need to hurt one another?"

"Is it my fault you are so weak that I can scarcely touch you before you bruise like a lowly fruit?" Daji snorted.

"A caring lover wouldn't hurt someone, no matter how careful it required they be," Al insisted, standing up to face Daji. "You aren't a lover. You just use me when it's convenient, and you don't care about anything I want!"

"You are a lowly wolf, a mere pack beast!" Daji hissed, standing and looming over Al. "You accept what I give you and you show your gratitude!"

"I have my own rights! I'm a mammal like any other and I have value of my own!" Al growled out. "I'm not to be muzzled if I need to howl!"

The phrase brought a strange look to Daji's face, and deepened the scowling creases as she turned on Nugua. "You... that sounds like one of your insufferable books. I think I saw that title once. What have you done, little sister?"

Nugua swallowed hard, her eyes darting up and back down again as she bore the hateful glare. "Reading and learning are essential in modern life, and the experience of the oppressed, like Toni Loboson, need to be..."

"Loboson?!" Daji roared. "Wolf literature, wolf pity, why do you care so much for these creatures?"

"I'm not a creature!" Al yapped, cringing back when Daji turned her hateful glare on him. "I'm... I'm an unmuzzled wolf. I stopped being defined by the hate of prey, and I'm not going to be muzzled anymore."

Daji slapped Al sharply with a huge hand, contemptuously looking down on him as he half-curled on the ground, blood dripping from his cut lip. "You claim I hurt you? I was asserting my place over you. And you will not tell anyone about any of it."

Nugua trembled, her claws reflexively flexing out, jabbing little holes in the surface of her book. "D-Daji... you can't do this!"

"Don't tell me what to do! You weak, worthless, soft-hearted nothing!" Daji turned on her sister, lips pulled back, one hand balled into a fist. She took a step forward, fist drawing back, before she halted, with a curious look on her face, head quickly turning around.

Al was back on his paws and grabbing Daji's tail, yanking it hard. "Leave her alone! She's not the problem! You did all this, it's your fault!"

Daji retaliated quickly and painfully. She backhanded Al, sending up tumbling to the floor, dazed and only just still conscious. She was on him in a flash of orange, throwing body blows, occasionally hitting the book and snarling. "Know! Your! Place!"

Al gasped loudly, coughing as the pain washed over his body, shocking him to full clarity. He looked into Nugua's fearful face across the room, remembering the kindness she had shown. "I can... still... show the bruises..."

"Then I shouldn't hide it!" Daji hissed, lifting her hand up high, digits spread.

The world slowed to a crawl, passing by Nugua's senses as a series of impressions. The menace, the violence, it all swirled in her mind. The sharp tang of blood, almost able to be tasted, throbbed in her awareness. She ground her fangs and stood, trembling, as the whimpers and grunts of pain touched her. She was stopped, uncertain, still afraid of her sister. More afraid than ever before. She was broken by her presence, watching helplessly.

The sound changed her mind. The soft, subtle sound rang out like sanctuary bells in her ears. Every tiger that ever lived had learned the sound of their claws unfurling. The muscle tensing, worked over years to keep the claws in while using the fingers, pulled with a light stretch, like wet rope twisting. The slide of the claws themselves against the flesh sheathing them had its own sound, which might as well have been like a sword from a sheath in a movie. It became the same thing to a tiger; it had as much menace and import.

Nugua's legs moved before her mind could stop them. The fear melted like frost in the sun when the sound rang through her mind. She had given way before, trained and shaped to be passive, to defer to her older sister, to turn aside, shut her eyes and ears, leave her be. That was the last straw. Al didn't deserve it. No one deserved it, but he was completely innocent, already a victim, just trying to get the respect he deserved as a mammal.

The two sisters impacted, hard, muscular forms thumping along the floor. Daji was taken completely by surprise, pressed to the ground beneath her sister and writhing around. "What are you doing?"

"I won't let you, sister! You were always cruel but clawing a wolf, clawing Aloycious, is insanity! And you think neither of us will tell anyone!"

"You wouldn't dare! Either of you! He is a worthless cur, and you are my sister. You would never hurt family!" Daji roared, slamming both of her palms against Nugua's chest, giving the strongest shove she could muster.

The hands impacted, but did nothing. The younger tigress was unmoving. Daji shoved more, slapped at her arms and chest, gave her flat hand strikes. "You are family. But family can do wrong. I'm not going to look aside, Daji. You're never going to do this again."

Daji desperately pushed and hit at Nugua, thrashing about more wildly, defied and restrained for the first time in her life that she could recall. In a desperate attempt to get herself out of the situation her hand slapped out, claws still out, smacking solidly against Nugua's face, and leaving a shallow rake along her cheek, less than a paper cut, but more shocking.

Never in all her life had Nugua reacted in anger. More so than her spoiled sister, she had been given lessons in proper action, how to be mild and deferential. Being younger, she was generally worth less than her sister, of lesser being, no matter what nature had bestowed onto her. The stinging furrows sent a hateful fire burning through her body, tightening her muscles, curling her lips back more. She had the savage mien she had seen so often on her wicked sister, face creased, teeth completely exposed.

She unleashed a roar that she had no idea she could. Almost every breath of air escaped her lungs, rumbling through the cords in a way she had not since her youth. The savage sound reverberated in the apartment, nearly deafening Daji, and wiping the petulant defiance off of her face. The shadows deepened on Nugua's features with each move of her head, making her look more and more savage. Anger shone in her normally mild eyes, and her breath huffed like that of her wild ancestors.

Her fingers curled on her right hand, the tense muscles trembling as she raised the huge hand high. She was not in a mood to spare her strength, to show any mercy to her sister. Years of dismissal and turning aside were fueling the slow draw. She had strength enough to break even the heavy bones of Daji's form, to shatter her like a porcelain plate with a single strike. Her claws flexed slightly, pricking her palm and reminding her she could give claw for claw, tear her flesh like paper with ease.

Nugua never struck the blow. She felt hands grasping her powerful arm, smaller, weaker, but able to hold her back as if they were police irons. Al's words cut through the blood thrumming in her ears, the fog of savagery and vengeance. "Don't, Nugua! Please! Not like this! Not like her!"

A gaze into her sister's eyes showed her fear. Wide-eyed, round-pupiled fear. She had been knocked down from her arrogant throne, shown that her position at the top had been a tolerated performance, not the nature of her being. She could have been dragged down before, but had only just been foolish enough to give a reason. She was helpless, and saved by a pair of hands easily shaken off. Two motions could leave her a shattered mess. She was fearfully staring because in her cruel mind, there was only one action, the world worked only one way. She would do the deed if given the chance. She expected nothing less than to get her comeuppance.

The snarl fell from Nugua's face, and her hand came down, slowly and harmlessly. Her whole body slumped, drained and heavy with the hate and rage gone from within. She artlessly flopped from on top of her sister, kneeling beside her with Al still holding her arm, more in comfort that restraint. "Go. Leave the apartment and go home to mother and father. Tell them anything but just go."

Daji rose, slowly, trembling, doing her best to hastily slap back on the mask of regality and imperiousness that had fallen in the midst of the fear for her life. "You... you weak creature. This is my home, and I will not be chased out by the likes of..."

A sharp snarl silenced her, and Nugua looked up with some of her anger back. "I have made every effort to be superior to you in this moment, not to copy your violent abusiveness. Do not make me regret the mercy that Aloycious, your victim, had me give you. You deserve it now. And only now. Go. Away."

The fear passed once more across Daji's features, a breath caught in her throat. Her mouth trembled, eager to cast more venom and bile. But one more look at her sister's seriousness was enough to turn her around and send her out the door with just the clothes on her back.

Nugua and Al remained there for a long while, panting, considering, being silent. Al finally removed his hands from her arm and turned away to the hall to Daji's room, where the bathroom was located. "I'll treat the scratches. They're not serious but better to get to them."

She stroked her fingers over her cheek, looking at her fingertips and seeing little smears of blood. "You need looking after too. More than me. She... I don't know what she was thinking. I need to call you an ambulance, she hit you a lot and it looked terrible."

Al emerged from around the corner, holding a bag of cotton balls, a bottle of alcohol, gauze and medical tape. "Wolves are tough. We have to be wiry and scrappy in order to survive," he said, lightly covering a cotton ball with alcohol and carefully dabbing it along the cuts. "And, don't tell your sister, but she is just not as strong as she thinks. She's strong enough but not as bad as she could be."

Adrenaline and righteous indignation had spared Nugua from feeling anything during her encounter. Lacking both in the aftermath, she winced when the alcohol burned along the scratches. "I'm absolutely taking you to the hospital. I know how strong she is and it must have damaged you."

Al pressed a fresh piece of gauze over the rake and taped it in place, carefully making sure the tape adhered to the fur. "I had you to protect me." He lifted up his hoodie with a wince, showing the book Nugua had given him over his belly in his waistband. "I always knew... knew it might come to this."

"Why did you stay with her?" Nugua asked, slowly rising and looking for her keys, having to sort through fallen objects.

"She said I was acceptable. A wolf doesn't date an Amur, not ever. Other wolves looked up to me, other mammals were amazed. And she treated me... she treated me terribly but I got to be part of a circle I never dreamed of."

"More like a nightmare," Nugua muttered, picking up her keys and giving them a quick jingle. "Come on. You need to be seen, just to ease my mind because... well, I do care about you."

Al nodded slowly, making his way to the door. "Thank you. With you there, I'll have the strength to tell them what happened."

"That's good. The ZPD will pick her up easily," Nugua sighed. "I suppose this is the end of your attempts to socialize with Amurs. You have the wost impression now."

"I... I don't have to give up. There are good Amurs," Al said softly, leaning against Nugua's arm. "Do I need to abandon the good Amur I know?"

A warm, happy smile spread across Nugua's face as she closed the door. "No. No, you hold on tight, and she will do the same."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buttered Popcorn- Odd fact, apparently the urine of tigers smells like buttered popcorn when they mark. The implication is that Nugua has been fear-urinating as the tension rises.


	2. The Incredible Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The old have love too, and have loved long, with sorrow from their division.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Two- The Incredible Life**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

Every district of Zootopia had at least two hospitals of decent size, along with smaller clinics, all with spaces for patients of various sizes. The biggest and most impressive of them all was Peaceground Memorial Hospital in Savannah Central, with the largest number of specialists, a top-tier oncology center, an impressive juvenile ward and the highest proportion of nurses to patients in the city. Though it was active day and night, the rooms were well isolated from the hustle and bustle, and the visiting hours were very generous, allowing patients to be constantly tended by family, with a few exceptions made to include other legal entities.

Room 5G was a room for medium-sized mammals, the largest percentage of the population of the city. It could hold four mammals, plus guests, though there were only two occupants. It was an elderly couple, both well into at least their seventies, wizened to different degrees and sere like autumn leaves. In the bed was a black wolf woman, her fur long ago having lost its gloss but never losing the depth of the blackness. She lay in the bed, an IV running into her arm, an EKG beeping steadily in the background, and her head tilted to the side. A smile rested on her pursed, wrinkled lips as she looked to her husband sitting by her bed.

He was a goat, one formerly robust and powerful, but stooped over away from his former unusual height, muscles melted like candle wax by age and too few activities, horns gracefully curved if slightly dinged and nicked by life. His white fur was dull as his wife's, yet still as pure in color as the day he was born. Glasses rested on the bridge of his snout, giving two views of his horizontal pupils to his wife. He was dressed well enough, with slacks and a pressed shirt, as well as a black vest crossed by a watch chain.

"It was just a little heart attack," the she-wolf muttered. "Barely one. It still could have been indigestion."

"It was the Bugburga that did it," the billy replied, reaching out to stroke over the she-wolf's cheek. "You're not a young mammal anymore, Olympia. You need to switch over to the drinks and things for your protein."

"Bah, that just concedes that you're old," Olympia huffed, placing her paw on the goat's hoof. "Buck, you don't have to worry. I told you, it was just a little something. Folks have this and are perfectly fine a day later."

"That's not what the doc's look said. And all the tests, they aren't just a little something," Buck insisted, leaning in to kiss Olympia's paw.

"Doctors, they're always concerned about the most ridiculous things. Remember when Nancy was born? I had to practically bite their scruffs to get you into the room, they just wouldn't believe you were the father. Those horn buds of hers and the little goatee, that convinced them," Olympia chuckled.

"At least we got the discreet ones that time; with little Louis they were chattering away, just because he looked like a wolf," Buck bleated.

"No telling with kids, or pups. It's all just a question mark, but a wonderful one," Olympia sighed.

Buck leaned in closer, resting his twisty-goatee-decorated chin on Olympia's hand, rectangular pupils staring deeply into her round ones. "Life is a question mark. The answers we get matter more than we can ever tell. The answer..."

"Was me," Olympia finished, rolling her eyes slightly. "Yes, I remember last month. I had a heart attack, not an attack of dementia. I think I can remember my own wedding."

"You admit it," Buck said with an air of quiet triumph.

"Always have to be right, don't you?" Olympia leaned in, with some difficulty, to place a kiss on Buck's nose.

"I prefer when being right is the right thing," Buck whispered, lifting his head a little to have his lips meet hers.

The kiss held for a long while, contact warm and soft, the rapacious hunger of youth long having mellowed into a comfortable connection that only needed a gentle touch. They were lost in each other, no matter if they were staring into each others' eyes or savoring the touch alone with eyes shut. The elderly couple savored the kiss until they both felt right to break it, a soft sigh falling from each of their mouths.

"You always do the right thing, Buck. That's why I was happy with you through all of it. A goat staying with a wolf, on your own, without a piece of paper to keep you there," Olympia whispered.

"I never needed it. I wanted it but I never needed it," Buck mumbled, suddenly looking aside. "Sun, earth and stars... I was so weak. So damn weak..."

"You've never been weak, love. You never lost any of that strength. It just took a while to warm up to the idea of going through with it," Olympia assured him, gingerly gripping his chin and turning his gaze back to her face.

"I assured myself I could handle anything back then. I worked a good job, I was a big guy, I was prey, I had good standing in the Meadowlands. I remember all of it," Buck whispered, leaning in to kiss his wife's nose.

" _Watch those beams! If they take someone's head off I'll take yours off!" Buck cried, glaring hard at other goats higher on the steel skeleton of the building being raised. Buck in his prime was a hulking hunk of corded muscle, contained well inside his heavy work clothes. Even so he nimbly moved on the tangle of steel and stone as he moved around the construction site, directing the mammals working on that particular part of the construction process._

" _Keep your horns on, Buck!" One of the billies on the building called out. "No need to ride my flank over a little swinging."_

" _That's foremammal!" Buck yelled back, tapping his white helmet. "I may be new at it but it's my job! I've done what you're doing and you know I did it better! Now control the swing or you'll be on half shifts!"_

_Construction continued without conversation, but plenty of cursing and shouted directions. The action died down slowly with the waning day, the hard work put in inching the building that much closer to completion, leaving the men a chance to relax some and watch the city passing by, from simple pedestrians to construction rubberneckers that lingered. One passer-by stood out to the whole crew._

_Zootopia had almost always had a negative stance toward the minority of predators that occupied the many districts, but they could still become reasonably socially or economically powerful. Early, aggressive predators had established powerful business empires and rich families, or did so via strong political campaigns that gave some named families great power. While well-appointed predators were rare, in the Savannah Central core, they were not unknown._

_The she-wolf making her way down the street had some trace in her feature that made her seem to likely be some relative of Mayor Wulfberg. Her black fur shone with a healthy, conditioned gloss, looking exceptionally soft and likely to be as smooth as corn silk. A dark gray A-line dress covered her fluffy form, sewn with glittering sequins in gently waving patterns, while an elegant purse hung from one shoulder on a long silver chain loop._

_Everyone on the construction team was transfixed by her, predator and prey alike. A pallid wolf, Andy, was especially interested, lips pulled back in a predatory smile. Before he could make a sound, Buck had called out, "I like the dress, miss! It suits you!"_

_While the workers were dumbfounded, the she-wolf only gave an amused smile. "I'll tell my uncle you said so, he bought it for me. Don't hesitate to tell me I look nice if you see me again."_

"It really did suit you," Buck mumbled with a goofy smile. "It still suits you. It takes the best tailors in Zootopia to keep it in shape but that is so worth it."

"And I really did like when you said it was good on me," Olympia said. "But only you. I'm so glad you said something and not that Andy guy. If he had said something first I never would have come walking by again."

"Andy was the kind of wolf that gave wolves the bad rep they had. He couldn't stop howling at predator women of every description, even Amurs if you can believe it."

"I believe it. He shamed himself, and I still think you were right about taking care of him... but did you have to be so soft?"

"You love me when I'm soft. Besides, it was just the right thing to do. I always want to do only what's right, even when it's hard..."

" _Andy, I am telling you, let it alone and just go with the other guys to the bar. At least if you're drunk you'll have an excuse to be this stupid." Several weeks later, the building was more together, and work had ended for the day. The only ones left on the grounds were Buck and the pale wolf Andy._

" _You shut it, grass-muncher! You only got the white helmet because the soft, weak suits are all cud-chewers like you and handed it to you!" Andy spat. "You get everything handed to you!"_

" _There are plenty of other prey types working this job. They moved me up because the others told them I was the best suited. I did all those night classes for a reason, even if I almost went off a beam a time or two from being tired. Go home and cool off, Andy. This is just a bad idea."_

" _Everything! Foremammal, shop steward, captain of the damn bowling league! By the moon, that she-wolf..."_

" _She has a name. Miss Wulfberg. Olympia Wulfberg. And she is not a thing to be handed. She's her own mammal. Do not keep this line of conversation going Andy. I'm telling you, pursuing this is not worth it..." Buck cautioned._

" _Shut it! Don't pretend you show preds any respect! You give garbage jobs to preds like me, and keep our kind from the big money of the overnights! You grass-snorters don't have any care for preds, don't you call her Miss anything, you don't care."_

" _Tell that to Lupskwiscz and Medvedv, they take the good jobs because they actually do the work, Andy. And why would I put non-nocturnal mammals on the night shift, especially since you're a serial howler? I would never give you that shift. Besides, this isn't about the job and you know it. Just let it be and go. You don't want this."_

_Andy snarled loudly, baring his fangs, the low city lights reflecting off his pearly whites and the saliva flecking his lips."It's not enough your kind control everything, you have to steal our women too..."_

" _Don't. Just don't. You were already on the edge but I'm telling you, this is a terrible idea. I already warned you about talking about Miss Wulfberg as an object."_

_Andy continued to snarl, trying to intimidate the huge goat, despite being thinner and shorter than him. "Quiet! Preds were lord over weak prey! I know what you want, and it's disgusting! Unnatural! Wolves for wolves alone!"_

" _Last warning, Andy. I won't bring the union in over this, I won't get the suits involved, this is just me and you. I'm not trying to do anything with Miss Wulfberg, I just enjoy talking to her when she comes around. If she happens to come around regularly, that's her choice. It's a bad idea to do anything more, just go away. This conversation ends badly too far along, so end it here."_

_Andy stepped forward, fingers curled, snapping at Buck. "Never talk to her again! Leave our women alone!"_

_Buck didn't answer the frothing rage verbally. He threw out a single, unrestrained punch, a solid right cross across the jaw. He delivered it without anger, his face never changing as his strike connected. He laid Andy out with the single hit, knocking him to the ground and out. "I warned you. It was a terrible idea to persist. Now, when you wake up, go home, and let's never have this conversation again."_

"You could have hit him a few more times. At least a kick or something," Olympia said with some amusement.

"That wouldn't have been right. He was just a pred-pride bigot, and a frothing sexist. One pop in the jaw and a night of being out at the site shut him up. He was talking about you when you weren't there to crack him in the face yourself."

Olympia stroked a paw down Buck's jawline, sighing happily. "You never, never have been weak. Fear isn't weakness. You were worried about what would happen but you loved me no matter what. A weak coward would have run away when some howl-head like Andy rattled him. I don't care that it took you until last month to marry me. It was a bonus. The best kind of thing. And all because of a pop star and a few cops. Peer pressure works, which is funny from someone who always snorted at pop singers."

"I never snorted at pop singers. Just new ones, after my time. What ever happened to Jerry Vole and Tony Russet?"

"They're in retirement homes, if they're lucky," Olympia laughed, slightly wincing and clearing her throat.

"But it was the coppers that did it. Sure, that singer said good stuff, but the rabbit and fox... she was like me. She came from the sticks into Zootopia, she made good, and she met a wonderful pred that she fell in love with and didn't care about how that looked..." Buck wistfully sighed.

"Have the doctor check you for the onset of dementia," Olympia chuckled. "You did a lot but let's be honest. She came from the Tri-Burrows, the actual sticks. You're from the 'burbs. Meadowlands may not be built up, but there are split-level houses in planned community grids, abutting the city core directly. Not taking anything away from you, but you had actually interacted with more predators."

"I grew up working class. Even if I did it being prey, I was never a rich billy. You're the niece of a former mayor, you have money and connections. And you married me, even if you had your pick of predators all those years."

Olympia kissed Buck's hoof and smiled at him. "No matter what, I always hoped we'd get here some day."

"When you said you were pregnant the first time I very nearly butted my way into City Hall to demand a marriage license. It wasn't illegal, it was never illegal. My parents just told me it was illegal because I guess they were evil..."

"No, just genuinely cowardly. Moon love my uncle, but he kept hinting I should try dating his spineless underlings to give them a good appearance for future elections. I guess to his credit he never forebade me to date you, or made mom and dad do that. He just suffered in a continual state of embarrassment, for social reasons. Not, the species thing, but because of the class thing. The species thing came up now and then but he was more worried about the money. That you were using me. That's almost funny. Prey preying on predator."

"It would be funny if I didn't see it myself. Get some big lummox like a buffalo or a really huge ram with a pig or a fennec and they'll trample all over them. Male or female, doesn't matter. If they have a mind to, the big one is usually the one doing the harm."

"I guess..." Olympia settled back more properly into her bed, head still turned to regard Buck. "I know it wasn't really the cops or Gazelle. You've wanted to marry me since date one. You wanted Nancy and Louis to know their parents were not afraid of anything. You wanted Nancy to go ahead and marry Thomas if she wanted, and Louis to ask that nice Miss Liskuski to get serious and settle down. The time had come to make it happen. And that was wonderful."

Buck laid his hoof on Olympia's shoulder, settling comfortably into the chair. "I love you Olympia. It took forever but it was all worth it. We were always united, now everyone knows."

The silence of the night was broken by the rush of nurses and the rattling of the crash cart, running hard for room 5G. The team burst into the room to find Olympia on the floor, her tubing pulled taut, EKG sensors pulled off, her hands on Buck's chest, exposed after she tore his shirt open. Her eyes were filled with tears and she was howling with a wounded pain. "Please! He started saying he couldn't breathe and then he tried to walk around!"

The nurses carefully moved Olympia aside, helping her into bed as they worked on her husband. She couldn't understand what was being said, and could only watch helplessly as Buck was tended to.

* * *

Meadowlands District Cemetary was much like the rest of Meadowlands, grassy, well-tended, full of low, rolling hills, but also crisscrossed with paved paths to show the intrusion of civilization into nature. The largely treeless expanse had large collections of marble plaques set into the ground, along with the showier cenotaphs, walls with cremation ashes, tombstones and statue markers, with looming mausoleums far off near the iron fence around the area, set higher than other places.

A lone figure walked slowly along the straight paths cut through the meandering hills, bundled up against the early autumn chill, in a hooded sweatshirt, the hood lifted high in two points. The gray-furred figure carried two huge bouquets, both filled with colorful flowers, including bright red roses.

They moved to the higher-end section of the cemetery, going from plaques in the ground into a forest of weathered tombstones and polished marble obelisks, imposing monuments to those who had passed before and could muster the money to make certain the world would remember them.

The end of the figure's journey was a relatively modest stone, a simple standing rectangle in black marble. Etched onto the surface was the image of a hoof holding a paw, clasped together in love. Beneath, the sun, moon and stars shone on trees and fields, with figures supplicating in worship. Just below that was the name  _Wulfberg-Mouflon_ , along with the names  _Buck_  and  _Olympia_. Near the base, past the dates of birth and death was the epitaph  _Newly Wed, Always one_.

The figure pulled her hood back, off of her curled horns, revealing her wolf snout ending in a goatee. She laid the bouquets down across the grave and knelt down, caring little about the grass staining her well-worn jeans. She leaned in to press her forehead against the stone as best she could, horns softly clattering against the surface.

"Hey mom and dad. Sorry I missed last week, but I promise there was a good reason, a lot of them. Thomas and I have been exceptionally busy on the farm, and getting here from the Burrows is tough when there's a bumper crop coming in. And then I had to help out Rosa's wedding planning. You remember Rosa, the widow; her husband was Thomas' first boss, before he inherited the farm. You were right, she really did always have her heart set on Mr. Spikel, and now they can be together. So, happy wedding stuff, farming, stuff happening around the Burrows. But that's not an excuse. That's never an excuse. You taught me there should be no excuses when there are no real barriers.

"No more division-families. No folks living together, having confused and sad children whose mother and father are blissfully in love but never get married. I already did that to some of my children, but no more. They'll have a mother and father who are married and happy together. You paved so many roads for me and Louis. Most are like you, they were influenced by the ZPD officers, or by Gazelle and her tiger. But we followed your lead, because it was much closer to home.

"And sorry on Louis' behalf. Scarlet Liskuski is quite the... forceful woman. Mom, I know you love her but she really is like you. She just bowls him over and he's like dad, flustered and agreeable. You know you loved it, Dad, and Louis is absolutely transported by her. I don't even mind when he's carried away by her, because they'll spend lingering hours together, holding hands in a restaurant until they get asked to leave. Thomas isn't quite as showy, but he really does demonstrate that much love.

"I miss you two so much. We all do. I just wish there had been some time to get used to the idea. But I think I knew you would never let yourselves be pulled apart. I guess it was true, the moment you met, you just were a couple, and nothing would tear you apart. It's heartbreaking for us, but we all smile knowing, at least it was happy for you. And now you're together, forever. All your life, leading to this. That's so incredible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to suggest that everyone, if you can, find the works of Gregoire Solatareff, and track down the movie "Loulou, l'incroyable secret."


	3. Family Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis, from Judy's childhood, is now a grownup, and must deal with very grown-up matters.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Three- Family Business**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

Travis Blackpaw licked his palm and slowly drew the wet pad along the fur atop his head. Even if he lacked the distinctive puff that his friend Gideon had, he still gave some thought to keeping his fur lying flat. It looked more classy. Sure, he seemed like a dandy, but if the choice was between looking like a dandy or like a nobody from nowhere, he would take the pressure of being a dandy over the implication he was a poor nobody looking for a handout.

He examined his figure as much as he could, upper body looking decent. He was just another weasel, a stretched-out rodent as far as others were concerned, all long and skinny, but at least decently muscled beneath his best white shirt. He was dressed for a Convocation, in his black slacks, with a little bit of the old  _Odie Twi Let_  as his father always pronounced it. Face scrubbed to perfection, fangs brushed even if he intended to show them as little as possible, every single detail considered. He was ready. He was sure he was ready.

He looked out the window of his bathroom, gazing over the 'main drag' of Bunnyburrow and out toward the fields on the horizon. The lack of high buildings made the task easier but that made his heart start to race. He knew what he had to go do, and what waited for him. He turned away with a sigh, sucking in a huge breath, standing straight and tall. He needed all the confidence he could muster to keep his nerve steely.

The apartment he occupied was oddly spacious, and he had always counted his blessings that he had found one sized for what was likely a sheep or goat. Given the population of the Tri-Burrows that wasn't too much of a surprise but there were still a  _lot_ of bunnies to cater to, and he half expected to find one for them. He fell somewhere in the middle range between the two; he reflected, in the vaguely philosophical way he sometimes had, that there always seemed to be a middle of the middle somewhere. The broad ranges society had created to try and accommodate everyone worked spectacularly well but there was usually an outlier of some kind. Rabbit things worked quite nicely for him, but he did occasionally like sheep-sized things.

He glanced to the kitchen area, briefly considering taking a swig of a little liquid courage. Just a drop, nothing excessive. His gaze quickly turned aside, eyes clamping shut tightly. No. That would look terrible. If he showed up with booze on his breath, no matter how little, it would ruin his reputation worse than tattered clothes or a dirty face. He'd have to power through it on his own.

He slowly walked down the steps around back of the building that held both his apartment and his business. His luck truly had been amazing, at least back when he had come back to Bunnyburrow after his foray into Zootopia for education, and some culture. He had been the wanderlustful type, but only as far as Zootopia, and only for schooling.

For all their country pride, Bunnyburrow still needed certain skills that required their folk go off to fancy education. Sometimes they didn't come back, and that was fine. But when they did, they were the beloved children of the Burrows. Travis had gone away to become a CPA, an expert on all matters involving taxes and other finances. He had even been certified as a paralegal, just enough legal training for some work with contracts. If he bothered he could pass the Zootopian Bar exam.

Jaguar Manchas had done something similar, after learning what an actuary was and deciding he could be that and an accountant. For a time he had lived with his uncle, Renato, in Zootopia's Rainforest District, but even though it had been lovely, Bunnyburrow was his true home. Both of them were needed, and got lucky about the location. Some very unsavory and allegedly malevolent guy named Clayton had owned an antique shop there, but effectively been run out of town after some unwanted attention paid to a local doe. It left the space priced to move, with two apartments above and a space below. They established  _Blackpaw and Manchas_ , a one-stop shop for many things. Accounting and taxes, insurance, contract writing and review, and both were Notaries, Jaguar Public and Travis Civil.

The weather was mild and pleasant, puffy clouds scudding along like tightly packed flocks of sheep, occasionally casting shadows across the face of the land, but mostly letting the sun show through. It was quite a lovely day, so far as Travis was concerned, a lucky break on his day off. It made the slow, casual walk along the rutted dirt roads outside of the town much more enjoyable. He could bleed off nervousness though stretching his legs, and build his confidence with exercise.

He waved and gave fangless smiles to those that passed him, on paw or hoof or riding tractors or in old trucks. He strolled by the vast fields of the Hopps family, awed by the great holdings. They were one of the two largest landowning families in Bunnyburrow. His destination was the other family, located past the Hopps' properties.

He turned off the public road, under an arched sign reading  _Dreyson Family Orchards_ , onto a road that proceeded up toward a large stand of trees modified into what was akin to a huge tree-mansion for medium-small mammals. It was a stunning marvel of arboreal architecture, giving it the gravitas and imposing quality of more conventional imposing manors.

Beyond the manor and the grounds were vast orchards of trees, fruit trees of all descriptions as well as nut trees of many kinds. They fed the local market, and Zootopia, and even some small amount beyond that. The operation was pretty impressive, and given that the family was smaller than the Hopps' there was more money in fewer paws.

As Travis approached the tree-mansion a series of sharp, shrill calls emerged from several locations, causing a huge lump of blackness on a kind of high patio to stir. The puffy mass resolved itself into the shape of a robust, and more than a little rotund, dark black fox squirrel, with the characteristic white bands on his face and enormous brush. "Wuzzat? Hoozat? What are y'all yapping about up there?"

"It's that weasel again, Big Daddy!" A male voice called from some hidden place.

"Ferret, Will," Travis corrected, with a slightly scraping tone. "Black-pawed ferret."

"Don't think you know me, weasel!" The one called Will screamed back.

"Hush up, boy! Ya got me up, now this is business for yer daddy," the older squirrel hollered. He looked down on Travis with a slight scowl on his features. "Well! Lookee here. Polecat's got hisself his best Moondas-go-ta-convokin' duds. Ain't no moon ta squeak at here, boy. I can guess what ya wanna squeak at. All the squirrel boys come up and I chased 'em all out, if the boys didn't run 'em all off. None-a them had a fool head enough ta come back. This is five times, boy, four times when ya left of yer own accord. Ya fold like a weak hand, polecat. Don't make me call in the boys..."

"I left to be polite, Mr. Dreyson," Travis replied, in a soft tone. "But more importantly, I came back. I don't want to be a bother, sir. But I feel how I feel. I wish I could show that more clearly."

"Ya know how I feel about you and yer kind, polecat," Big Daddy Dreyson growled. "Ya got yer own nerve. Boys! Come on down, but don't do nothin'. This here fancy dandy might get his hide off our land on his own. Gotta be polite, right boys?'

"Yes, Big Daddy!" The male voices answered in unison, finally emerging from hidden spaces in the tree manor. Five muscular squirrel males, ranging from light sable to dark fawn and all in sturdy overalls, deftly scurried down the face of the manor, arranging themselves in a horseshoe pattern, vaguely ringing Travis in front. Being fox squirrels they were the largest of the squirrels, all of them the size of Travis, and the center one standing a bit taller.

"I don't mean harm. I just wanted to ask..." Travis started.

"Shut it, weasel!" The center one yelled, the voice that of the one named Will. "We know what you want! Your kind usually has the good sense to stay with their own!"

"Please, sir, just let me talk to Ermintrude..." Travis pleaded.

"Don't you say her name!" One of the other brothers yelled. "You have no right to-"

"Vernon!" Big Daddy Dreyson interrupted his son with a tremendous bellow. "I don't much care how the lot of ya feel about him. He can say Ermintrude's name all he likes, am I clear?"

"Yes, Big Daddy. Sorry Big Daddy..." the one named Vernon mumbled, looking with disdain at Travis.

"And don't you mumble, I raised ya better..." Big Daddy Dreyson cleared his throat and looked down with some ire at Travis. "You say her name all ya like. She's a fine gal. Got a lotta acreage in her future, lotta bucks in her future too. Means a lot to some slick dandy, don't it?"

A shade of anger passed over Travis' face like a rolling storm cloud, and he fought to control his natural reaction. "Mr. Dreyson, sir... I don't care about your names or your sons being around me like this... but I am not after Ermintrude's money or this land. I have a good practice in town, I make more than enough to be comfortable, and I happily came back here even knowing I wouldn't have a big spread because I love this community. I'm here to ask if she wants to go with me to dinner some evening. I knew her when we were young, and I have met her socially at the fair. Shouldn't she decide things?"

Big Daddy Dreyson glared down at Travis, scowling all the harder as the words struck him. "Yer slick alright. Ya outta be a lawyer, that's what your kind does. It is her choice, but I am her daddy, and my little girl ain't gonna have no shifty polecat comin' 'round and-"

"Daddy that's enough!" A strong, feminine voice called out from the other side of the tree mansion. Yet another squirrel ran up, the aforementioned Ermintrude. She took strongly after her father, with a dark, shimmering coat and a hint of plumpness to offset her strong-looking figure, clad in a gingham shirt and a denim skirt. She was as tall as her brothers, a hair from matching William in height. "Enough!"

"Ermintrude, darlin', I respect yer wishes but this is my job. I care about ya, my lil pecan, and I'm just keepin' ya safe from greedy folk. And now, this polecat, this slick dandy is out of his league; he knows how I feel about his kind."

"Well! I must say that is shocking to hear!" Following in Ermintrude's wake was a rather short armadillo, in a crisp suit and carrying a clipboard. "I've done a lot of business with you, Mr. Dreyson and never heard you express such a terrible idea! To deride this hob, to complain of his 'kind', just for being a predator!"

A long, deep silence followed the statement, everyone looking at the armadillo with a measure of confusion. "Miss Ayotoch, what in the name of the Sun and Earth are ya getting' at? Predator? When has that made any matter?"

"You... you were derisively misidentifying his species, speaking of his kind, what else could you mean?"

Big Daddy Dreyson took a moment to think about what he was hearing, before he busted out with a tremendous, deep belly laugh, his children driven to laugh along with him. "Miss Ayotoch, this ain't Zootopia! This is family business, my family business, but I'll tell ya, so ya don't get the wrong idea of my family. Here in the Burrows, we got our ways. Rabbits ain't supposed ta be with foxes 'cause it's been a tradition. They ain't supposed ta be with hares, neither. Heh, dunno 'bout hares but the Hopps' 've got a fox in their burrow now and good on them fer that. Sheep and wolves, sheep and goats, traditions. Don't gotta make no sense, just gotta be. Some of us still care, it still matters."

"Daddy, you aren't making us look good in front of Miss Ayotoch. She's a big buyer of our fruits and nuts, and we gotta look good in front of Zootopians," Ermintrude noted, glancing aside at the armadillo.

"I'm not here ta keep up appearances, girl, I'm here ta sell tree produce and tree produce byproducts. This is the reality, his kind ain't never been welcome here," Big Daddy Dreyson snorted.

"But it's not... predators..." Miss Ayotoch queried, ever more curious.

"I've run off whole groves of squirrels, but that ain't important. I only yelled at them ground squirrels and marmots. I never liked any money-sniffin' male snufflin' 'round my Ermintrude, but I'm a tree-critter. And as long as Sun and Earth been alive, tree-critters and burrowers ain't had no union. But this polecat can't get the message. How many times ya gonna come 'round these parts, boy?"

"Every Sundas, regular as clockwork. I'll make it my settled day off. I'll be here after Solaterra service lets out. And Carrot Days are coming up. We can talk," Travis said, smiling to Ermintrude. "H-how's it going, Miss Ermintrude?"

"All peaches and pecans, Travis," Ermintrude answered with a cheery lilt. "Big Daddy, let Travis come courting. You know I'm gonna marry him. Are you planning to stop me?"

"Marry me?" Travis squeaked, eyes going huge.

"You better be the marrying kind, Travis. I didn't carry a torch for your from kithood for you to say you wanna live alone," Ermintrude chittered.

"He's a burrower, darling!" Big Daddy Dreyson cried out, a drop at the end of his voice signaling defeat. "Tell me why I should accept this polecat ta this family."

"He's willing to put up with my knothead brothers. That's good enough for me. But he's willing to put up with you, too," Ermintrude said with a small laugh. "Momma puts up with you and you love her to pieces."

"Ya know I was gonna see if he kept coming," Big Daddy Dreyson groused. "Alright, ferret... Travis. You think ya can handle this family? Prove it. Ya got the gumption ta come back five times. Ya did good dealin' with us when we wanted ya gone. If ya survive us wantin' ya here, that'll be a good showin' for ya."

"Surviv-?" Travis' confusion was instantly dissolved when he was suddenly crushed by all the Dreyson brothers giving him a powerful shared hug. The breath was squeezed out of his body and his lithe form was nearly compressed into a pulp.

"Back away, fellas, don't ruin him before I get something out of him," Ermintrude called, pushing her brothers aside until she could scoop Travis up into a tremendous squeeze, sharing a mix of softness and strength.

"Mind your paws, boy! No son-in-law of mine is gonna be a grabby critter!" Big Daddy Dreyson shouted.

"Oh hush, Big Daddy! My paws are going more places," Ermintrude shouted back, lifting Travis off the ground and slinging him across her shoulders before turning toward Miss Ayotoch. "Hope you don't mind if we finish our business with Travis along. I don't feel like letting go right now."

"I have no objections, and I can review any contracts beforepaw!" Travis added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many of the terms and ideas used casually in the story come out of a personal worldbuilding, which adds depth to the whole thing. It also may be confusing as no one explains anything, and this is natural. You don't stop and explain everything in conversation. I've always been a fan of the gloss and note style used in university editions of plays anything done ohms, where archaic or obscure words are translated on the side of the line and larger matters have footnotes.
> 
> Convocation- The term for a meeting of members of the Holy Selenic Convocation, a largely predator and nocturnal church that's some proportion Penecostal and Voodoo. It centers around the moon, and growing bugs as that's how predators get protein. They also occasionally get Moon-ridden and speak in tongues, to connect to what Gideon said in the movie.
> 
> Moondas-go-ta-convokin' duds- Or more properly, Moondas-go-to-convoking attire. A variation on the old Southern expression "Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes" meaning church clothes or the good clothes saved for special occasions. I have even made my own days of the week. Moondas is one of the three weekend days, each one for one of the three major religions I whipped up for this and related series. Sundas for the Solaterra Church, Frededas for the Peaceground Unitary Church Association and Moondas for the Holy Selenic Convocation. Everyone typically takes the day of their particular religion's main gathering day plus the one closest to it. For Peaceground members, that could be either Sundas or Moondas, while for the other two it's Frededas, making that the day of the week with the highest amount of leisure time. The perception in the city is that the prey and predator churches are quaint but old fashioned. They're seen as an "in the sticks" phenomenon, where it really is more likely for someone to come across Solaterra and Selenic churches. In Zootopia the PUCA is the major faith, though the others exist in some form. Meadowlands has a large Solaterra population, the Nocturnal district is the only place in the city that's majority Selenic and there are modest churches in other districts serving worshippers.


	4. Baa-Baa Black Sheep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gideon Grey is a changed fox. He's a better fox. But still, a simple fix, who thinks he might be a bit too simple.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Four- Baa-Baa Black Sheep**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

Gideon was king of his culinary kingdom, the god of his little kitchen universe. While he did employ local folk for small jobs and to run the counter, all the vital jobs in the kitchen were his and his alone. He knew the recipes by heart, but he conceded the need to write down his recipes and store them in a safe, though he had a particular touch and technique with the various recipes that could only vaguely be noted in the scrawled lines.

He took a long, slow sniff over the tall gold-colored cooking pot that was over a low flame. The mingled melange of fruit and spices streamed languidly down length of his sensitive snout, his trained senses picking out the individual pieces and also assembling the whole collection. The sweet aromatic headiness of the carrots blending with the tart acidity of the perfectly ripened and firm apples, tossed with the gentle heat of cinnamon, the gingery pep of cardamom, nutty notes of nutmeg and one small, subtle and smooth hint of vanilla at the very end. It was the perfect base for his filling.

He moved the mixture around slowly with a rubber spatula, assessing the state of the apple slices and the long chunks of carrot. He slowly poured in a quantity of sugar, eying the measure carefully. That was the hard part of his recipes. He had been trained in culinary arts, but nowhere as fancy as Zootopia. His mother had reluctantly indulged his kithood wish to make cookies and cakes and such, however it may have angered his unreasonable father. He had had a kind of natural talent, which did not help his rotund figure as a youngster, which had both brought bullying from older kits and power over the younger ones. A well-fed predator was still a primal fear. Large, massy, and with sharp teeth. It hurt to recall what he had once been, who he had hurt. But he did find cooking was also his salvation.

The Solaterra church had been there for him, to help him as he became a struggling, angry adult that was barely capable of getting on, in danger of becoming his father. He had not even been a part of it back then. He had been an ill-fitting member of the Holy Selenic Convocation, listlessly yapping at the moon, occasionally gamely speaking in tongues and helping to manage the donation grub flats and pupae spaces. His anger at so many things sent him to drinking, then almost to jail, and the scare had sent him seeking some kind of help. The Selenic Convoker he had seen had been the one to suggest he go to the counselor at the Solaterra congregation.

The counselor had been a lay doe, Zootopia trained as a professional counselor who came back home to give what she could to the Tri-Burrows. It had been a strange experience for Gideon, having always had a hard-headed and indelicate view of life, from a family skeptical of 'citified' niceties. Talking to someone, anyone, had not been something he had considered, especially a rabbit. Among other things, he was feeling a lot of guilt, for all the rabbits he had bullied using an instinctual fear of death, even if none of them understood that was where it had all come from.

Exercises had helped him positively work out his anger and redirect the energy of the frustration that had formed the basis of much of it. Frustration at being bullied for being fat, a sense of alienation from being one of the very few foxes surrounded by those who mistrusted him, but especially frustration and alienation because he could just grasp his own lack of intelligence. He could learn many things, but he was just not as intellectually curious and devoted to a love of learning like his friend Travis.

Among other things, he had become comfortable with his modest intelligence. He was smart enough to live and enjoy his life, to be comfortable among the prey around him, and to take up his hobby as a job. Cooking became a meditative experience. The repetitive stirring of the fillings, the kneading of the dough, the folding and rolling of puff pastry to create flaky layer on flaky layer, it all let him relax into the moment. By calming down, he had become a productive member of Bunnyburrow society.

His rising reputation led to a loan from the Bunnyburrow Granger Bank and Trust, and real estate agents willing to show him a building for sale, with a living space above, which was a common thing in Bunnyburrow. The space below had turned into  _Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuff_ , which further made him a fixture in the community. Many doors had opened once other mammals started trusting him, and he had mended many relationships, including the one with the Hopps family in general, and Judy in particular. But more important than that mending, was his more-than-repaired relationship with...

"Knock-knock, Gid!" Sharla's cheerily bleating voice caressed Gideon's ears and sent a joyous tingle down his spine, his fur slightly puffy and a huge smile springing to his muzzle. He turned around and watched Sharla enter the kitchen.

She had grown up well, the ewe's figure somewhere between the size of the average burly ram and Dawn Bellwether's petite size, leaving her just a little shorter than Gideon. She was shaped like the finest Bosc pear, with her long upper body and a maddeningly perfectly thick rounding below the waist, all of her extra lush and thick thanks to her having neglected her shearing for a while. Gideon suspected she was saving it for their coming nuptials.

"H-hey darlin'..." Gideon mumbled, turning his muzzle aside to hide his nose drying out. "They done with ya early today?"

"It's all telemetry data from the Peaceground Three design tests, so I can power through that pretty quickly. Look through the temperature data, the energy consumption, pitch and yaw, descent speed in the test range, the standard issues. I just need to tell them what I make of it," Sharla said, crossing the kitchen to wrap Gideon up in a warm, fluffy hug.

"Huh. All moon-talkin' to me, darlin'; that's why yer the brains and I'm not," Gideon said, with a too-tight smile and self-deprecating chuckle.

"Oh Gid..." Sharla sighed, nuzzling and kissing Gideon under the chin. "I wish you could stop thinking like that. You're smart too."

"But I ain't on your level, love. Surprised ya came back to the Burrows. Ya had so much better out there..." Gideon sighed as he squeezed her tight.

_Sharla Ovine... Gideon had bullied her almost as much as he had Judy, maybe more. Judy fought back, but Sharla and her brother Gareth did nothing. Eventually he stopped, and they diverged, to an extreme. Gideon was dim; Sharla was a genius. Gideon had been directionless; Sharla was laser-focused. She understood what it meant to want to be an astronaut. But more than that, she actually applied herself and went after that dream. Just like Judy, earlier than Judy, she left the tiny town behind, to shoot for the stars._

_That she never left the earth was not a slight against her, but a sad reality of circumstance. The math and science all came easily to her. She was an engineer of a high grade, with some small skill in other things essential for an astronaut. But her body could not match her mind. As hard as she tried, she could not do it. She failed. As a small consolation, given her expertise, she secured a job as a data processor and mission planner. Since that could be done anywhere with the internet, she could live where she wanted. So she went home._

_She had been a shut-in, ordering in from the only restaurant in town that delivered, getting groceries from Lepus and Leverets sent to her modest apartment, and eventually ending up a puffy mass of lanolin-greased wool. But on one of her rare forays into the outside world she found herself drawn to a scent that could overcome the smell of her own sheep wax. Fresh-baked pastry, and perfectly cooked fruit and vegetables. She pushed her corded woolen curls away from her eyes to look up at the shop beside her._ **Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuff.**

_The name struck something in her. The last time she had seen that name, she was signing his yearbook senior year, while he seemed trapped between being petulant and secretly apologetic. He had just shoved the book at her and mumbled something that sounded like an elided mixture of a demand for a signature and a half-hearted apology for lambhood bullying. After that, she went to university and he... became a baker._

_She stepped in with only a bit of hesitation. She wasn't a lamb anymore. Both were grown adults, and they could get on well. The tinkling bell brought forth the sound of pawsteps, and a sound of greeting cut off when the rotund baker fox recognized the mass of black wool. Their eyes met once she parted her bangs again, and the apologies flowed like water._

"Gid? Gid? Gideon!" Sharla's voice cut through Gideon's memories and snapped him back to his senses.

"Wh-wha? Darlin'? What is it?"

"Stir the filling, stir the filling!"

Gideon looked down to a threatening foaming of the thickening sauce of the filling. He quickly, but carefully, dragged the rubber spatula through the mix. The low heat gave him some leeway in case his attention wavered, as it just had. He wasn't in danger of his liquid ingredients turning into hard candy when it cooled. "Thanks, darlin'. See, Sharla, I need ya, need ya lots. Hardly got a thought in my head."

Sharla took on a long-suffering look and sighed in resignation. "Gideon... you were a success before we met, before I even considered dating you. You know you have plenty of brains for cooking. Why can't you appreciate that?"

"Darlin'... I've seen how my life was a mess, all because I didn't think. No matter what I cleaned up in my life, I still have that same mind. Gotta work hard and keep it straight. Seein' your smarts helped me see how far gone I am. I just see it so clear, Sharla..." Gideon slowed his stirring, ready to sink back into his memories.

Sharla gingerly placed her hoof on his paw, stirring along with him, matching the pace she had seen him use before, keeping him on track. "It can't be a bad mind. It led you to all the good things in your life, made you a better fox. You're a better fox, Gid. You would tell the younger you to do better and not hurt others. Please... see it."

"I'll do my best. I'll do it for you, darlin'..." Gideon looked to the hoof on his paw, smiling at the feeling of security that flowed from that touch.

* * *

"Another day, another buck. Good thing ya make more than me. It keeps us afloat," Gideon sighed, sinking into his well-worn vinyl recliner, holding a long-neck bottle of soft cider. No alcohol, not anymore. He had turned into such a teetotaler he hadn't even had the champagne at Judy's wedding. "Sun and Earth bless yer brains."

"And your brains and whole body. You work hard for your money, which was always good enough for you. Now we just have extra for nice things," Sharla added, pressing her hooves to his shoulders and gently massaging. "Remember what I said."

"I remember. But I still feel how I do. Ain't nothing wrong with that, I see what's what, and I am fine with it. I know I don't have yer brains, and I gotta thank ya every day fer bein' with me, even if ya know that," Gideon sighed, rolling his shoulders slowly into the massage.

Sharla slowly shook her head and pulled her hooves away from the gentle rubbing. "I'll be in the bedroom. Rest as much as you watch, watch TV, enjoy yourself. Enjoy  _yourself_ , Gid. You're allowed."

Gideon stared at the blank expanse of the flat-screen television that the combined incomes had allowed them to buy, replacing the old, tiny hunk of junk he had been using before. He was torn. She might have wanted him to rush in and sweep her off her hooves. But there was a new episode of  _Mini-Pie Wars_ , and he always got new ideas when he watched that, with the fleeting feeling that he could make a go of it. But his understanding of his own limited mind stopped it. Deciding at last, he pressed the power button on the remote and let himself be drawn into the high-stakes baking of tiny pies, that were somehow distinctly different from tarts.

He ended up watching the new episode, a rerun, and an episode of  _Minced_ , enjoying desperation cooking, imagining the creative things he could do with random, odd ingredients. He had little scraps of fruit and vegetables in the big walk-in, some citrus rinds, and he had had some Zootopian produce mammals talking up odd things he had never even heard of like cherimoya, passionfruit and dragon fruit. His ardor dampened, however, when he caught himself trying to think above the level he was used to. It would be a disaster if he got too fancy, tried to be too smart for his own good.

He made his way into the modest bedroom to find Sharla in just her wool, extra puffy as he had expected, but scrubbed free of lanolin to be as fluffy as possible. She looked to be sleeping on top of the covers; the blinds were drawn but her ebon body was bathed in the pale light of two small tabletop nightlights. The plastic figurine lights were in the shape of a fox tod kit and a lamb ewe, naturally, and by a happy coincidence the way they held their arms and stood allowed them to be placed to appear to be hugging in a natural and happy way. It both caused a pang of pain through Gideon's heart but also a warm and loving feeling. That should have been how things had gone from the start, but the past was the past; at least it was how things had ended up.

Sharla opened her eyes when she heard the soft shuffle of Gideon's paws and the small sounds of him undoing the buttons on his blue gingham shirt. "Get any good ideas from the shows, Gid?"

"I know better than ta try'n get any fancy ideas, Sharla. Ain't gonna work out no good fer us," Gideon sighed, letting his denim pants slump to the ground, crawling into the bed beside his ewe and spooning with her, pressing the softness of her wool against his modest gut. "It ain't my place ta get ideas."

Even if it was something she loved, savored, she could not feel comfortable wrapped in the strong grip. She writhed and twisted until he let her go, sitting up in bed. "I've been mild and patient, because we sheep are. But we also butt heads if we need to. I'm not going to keep letting you do this to yourself, Gideon. I won't allow this to continue."

Gideon looked up at her with some measure of shock and disbelief. "Wh-what are ya talkin' about, darlin'?"

"You always undercut yourself. You put yourself down, you think you can never do anything, that you can never think. You're better than you think, Gideon, and you should let yourself understand it."

Gideon said nothing for a while, looking down at the bed. "Darlin'... ya saw me. I was a big, stupid bully, I barely made it outta school, I drank, I almost turned inta my daddy!" His tone grew increasingly bitter and raspy, until he practically barked out his last words. "I bullied you..."

Sharla sighed heavily and gently took Gideon's chin in her hoof, turning his gaze into her eyes. "You know that was a long time ago. A lifetime ago. You know your therapist made you acknowledge the past has already happened, you can't change it. Move forward. I have, it's why I'm here with you, living with you, going to marry you. I don't care about what you did as a kit. Your life as a full-grown tod is the only thing that matters."

"Ya ain't in my head, Sharla. Ya don't know what's in there. It ain't much, it ain't good fer learnin'. Bein' stupid made me a bully, made me do... things... it's all in the past but I gotta remember it, darlin'. Gotta remember, every time I hold ya tight against this big belly; I used it ta scare ya, make ya afraid of me. I just see all the stupid things. Over and over. I gotta live with your hurt."

"It's  **my**  hurt, Gideon. Mine to feel, mine to overcome, mine to leave behind. It was when we were kids. It's not right, but it was a long time ago. You made amends a million ways to everyone you hurt. I think Gareth is starting to get tired of you saying sorry. You did everything from kissing my hooves to brushing my wool, scrubbing the lanolin, shearing... endless apologetic lovemaking. You said sorry, Gideon. I accepted it, showed you I accepted it. I wouldn't be your fiancee if I was still hurt and angry. Please... I'm running out of ways to beg you to stop putting yourself down. I want...  **need**  you to embrace the intelligence I can see so crystal clearly. You have a mind, you show it off, so please let it shine."

"It ain't there. I appreciate yer kindness but it's just a tub of mush under my ears. Custard filling fer pastry. I've seen my family, you've seen my family. The nice ones just ain't bad; Crazy Granny Milly and Poppa O, nutty as squirrel pantries. Ya seen my worthless drunk of a father, my cold mother, they treated ya like garbage. Best damn thing ever happened ta the Grey family in any number-a generations, bringin' brains and beauty in, they couldn't see how great ya are. First prey in the family, best thing in the family. I come outta that cesspool. That worthless lump of liquor and meanness that called ya a bleatin'... I ain't even gonna say it. He said it, and ya stayed. I never thought I could love ya any more but I did."

The deep self-deprecation started to make Sharla bristle, but the hate tossed onto the Grey family threw her into conflict. She didn't think anyone could hate their own family. But she had met the Greys. She had never heard so much screaming, or felt such cold, unflinching hatred. Everything was wrong with her, from her religion to her species to... her intelligence. They called her too clever, too wily and quick. How ironic. "Gid, it was aimed at me, and I, well, I got over it eventually. They don't know me and frankly, they don't know you anymore. They have to choose to be part of your life. And it's a great life, isn't it? You have lots of friends, the community likes you, and I'm going to marry you. Focus on all that. That's the important thing. Keep focusing on the good parts of life and yourself."

"I... got you... that's the good part..." Gideon mumbled. "Got Travis and the Hopps clan and all them nice folks that buy my pies and such... that's the good part. Makes me feel less... useless..."

"No, Gideon... the good things about  **you**. The good things inside of you that make all those folks want to be around you, want to be your friend or business partner or your wife. I want to be that because of you, Gid. Because of you." Sharla pulled Gideon's chin, bringing him in for a soft, tender kiss. "You're the good part of my life, too..."

Gideon sighed into the kiss, savoring the touch of Sharla's lips. She tasted just slightly like one of his plum and timothy tarts, the ones he made just for her. She must have eaten one before going to bed. She liked what he did. "I shouldn't be the good part of yer life. Ya deserve better. If ya can't have yer stars, ya deserve better'n a thicket-trash idiot."

Sharla's face fell, and a heavy sigh puffed from between her lips. She stepped away from Gideon, looking at nothing at all, anything but him. "Gideon... I love you. I love you with all my heart. Marrying you should be the happiest thing I've done, should make my life even better because we'll be together forever. I know you love me, I know you feel like I'm the best thing in the world. I'm not, Gideon, but your adoration makes a nerdy ewe like me feel so amazing. But the more you do this to yourself, the more you put yourself down, say bad things the more you... the more you give in to the poison your parents put into your head."

Gideon could say nothing for a while, looking hurt and confused. "What... what are ya sayin', darlin'?"

"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But this is serious and it's true. I have to tell you the truth. When you put yourself down you sound like your father, and your mother. They hated that I was smart, and you hate the idea you might be smart. You don't care if anyone else is, you just care that you might be smart. You think you can't do it because your parents are still sucking you back into what you want to escape. You can pull out but you have to want to!"

"I can't do it! I can't! I'm too stupid! I'm not like you! I'm that same thicket-trash! I'm thicket-trash, Sharla! Yer marryin' thicket-trash! Stupid, hopeless trash!"

Silence reigned in the room, long and uncomfortable, barely broken by the sounds of panting breath. Sharla slowly turned around, showing the tears in her eyes but a set and determined jaw. "You can't believe that. You changed everything about yourself, became more than anyone ever thought, became a good mammal. You're nothing of the sort. But if that's all you think, if that's the limitation you hold absolutely true... Gideon, I didn't think I would ever say this, but it's the only thing I can think of. If you can't take the last step, can't pull yourself out of that cesspool you said your family was... I'm going to stop loving you... because you can't love yourself, and I just can't love you all by myself..."

Those teary eyes, the slight tremor in her voice, they struck him in the gut, and suddenly he was a little terror again. A fat, angry bully making prey fear for their lives, stealing intimidated compliance and pretending it was respect. He had turned back into the monster that he had been running from for years. He had hurt,  **agonized** , the ewe that loved him, the ewe he loved so much that it hurt. Hurt all the more sharply because his thoughtless actions had made her say she might stop loving him. He probably deserved it. If he could bring her to that state, he had done something unforgivable.

"I... don't know... don't know if I deserve your love. I hurt ya. I made ya cry again, like nothin' had changed in all these years. Big bully Gideon... makin' the pretty ewe cry. Teach me, tell me how I can love someone like me. I never wanna make ya cry again, darlin'. I'm not stupid, I'm cruel, and I wanna end it. Anythin' you say, I'll try, just say it'll help and it's done. Anythin' to keep those tears outta your eyes. 'Cause if I put em there one more time, it won't make much matter if ya hate me. I'll hate myself so bad won't be any punishment on this earth worse'n what I'll do to myself."

Sharla stood still there, tracing her eyes over Gideon's face, seeking any trace of calculation or insincerity. There was only hurt, fear and contrition. He was, as ever, her soft, sweet Gideon. She finally moved in and gave him a squeeze, letting herself be lost in his ample mass. "First thing that comes to your mind, first idea you got from watching your shows. Don't stop, don't hesitate, just tell me the first idea you squashed down."

"Fancy produce," Gideon mumbled, not even hesitating a second. "Them fancy fruit sellers from Zootopia always talk about their weird fruits. I got the recipes all tucked away, how they get used and such. I could work 'em in. If it don't work, it don't work, but maybe it will. Get some folks lookin' in more often, maybe get me some more buyers from Zootopia."

A smile slowly broke across Sharla's face, her snout pressed under Gideon's chin, slowly nuzzling at him. "That's a wonderful idea, Gid. And I'll be here to support you, all the way."

"Got plenty of ideas. Gonna try 'em all, gonna make the Burrows see what kinda fox I can be..." He hugged Sharla tighter, drinking in her warmth and the soft thump of her heart through the fluff. "If it keeps that smile on yer face, I'm gonna be a genius fox. Even if I ain't... I tried."

"And that's all you can do, all I ever wanted..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crazy Granny Milly and Poppa O- A reference to the webcomic Ozzie and Millie
> 
> Thicket-trash- The Zootopian (Or, Bunnyburrow) equivalent of trailer trash, sort of implying they lived in a den dug under a thicket, rather than in more proper housing.


	5. Stepping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out in the sticks, a simple remarriage is anything but.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Five- Stepping**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

To the mind of most inhabitants of Zootopia, the Tri-Burrows area was nothing but a huge, monolithic bucolic wasteland of dull and stultifying sameness. It was, actually, a vastly diverse place, considering the vast spread the three burrows encompassed. It had as many pastoral leas as Meadowlands and sylvan spaces that would satisfy the most needful of forest dwellers.

Not everyone worked or lived on a farm, or near the various small towns. Some made their way in the loose communities further into the sticks, in the woods and on the plains. They were in touch with the outside world, had been wired for electricity and some deigned to have some kind of technology, but most sufficed with what they could produce and sold their homemade crafts or the strength of their arms to the farms. One or two were wealthy expatriates from Zootopia or other places that had abandoned the city for a simpler lifestyle, including those that had been set up for generations, living like an old country squire.

One of those generational inhabitants, who had contributed some measure of culture and advancement to the countryside, was a predator, of all things. Such an advance could happen for those bold enough to fight through the restrictions and use their natural ferocity to succeed in politics or business. That had been the case in the past for Mister Russel Todd, who owned a modest but lovely spread and a small country house, a manor that served to employ many in the community.

Those same employees were bustling madly about the manor, working with all their might to prepare for the upcoming nuptials of their employer. Long considered a lonesome bachelor more concerned with the order and beauty of his grounds or advancement of the community than romance, he had announced his engagement to a local widow doe, after a period of time following her husband's death.

The whole matter was not considered scandalous, only surprising, as the two did know each other but only through the late husband. Jack Lepus had been an able and charming buck-of-all-trades, and master of some. While he had not permanently been on Mr. Todd's house staff, the pair had worked together often, typically on community improvement projects, as Jack carried much weight in the community. Newer, safer and more reliable wells; stable electricity; better maintained roads to the more populous townships; a clinic with proper staff. All the combined efforts of Jack Russel, as they were collectively known. They had been practically one mammal.

Through it all was the sweet and helpful presence of Jack's wife Bea, of a lesser offshoot of the Hopps family. She provided all the help she could muster, while raising a terribly small brood of only four. Out farther than the heart of the Burrows, where life was designed and set for bigger populations, restrictions were natural. She had been a frequent guest of the manor, with Jack, and often acted supremely uncomfortable. She was just a hardy country doe, not used to taking tea in porcelain cups nor enjoying rich treats.

The four children of were of very similar ages, triplet does and a single buck, born with a tiny gap between pregnancies. Francine, Marigold and Cynthia had always been good does, helpful around the burrow and pleasant to be around. Their brother Peter, was quite the opposite. He was very much like Jack, a tinkering and energetic figure given to exploration and flights of fancy. But he lacked grounding, and more often than not favored mischief.

Given the size and prominence of the place, and the frequency with which the place was visited, the common target of his mischief was Mr. Todd's grounds. He was forever stealing produce from the hobby garden, making messes in the hedges or among the topiary, breaking windows playing ball with others, and always satisfied that he would get one over on the scowling, sighing Mr. Todd. A few words from his mother while he peeked around the side of her dress and the beetle-browed fox would give up.

Peter was king of the castle at home, and in the community, everyone loving his sharp wit and energetic personality. Everyone but Mr. Todd. He regarded the rich fox with mild disdain, thinking him a humorless recluse. He didn't care much about all the good things he had done; what little of it mattered to a youngster was used without a sense of appreciation. He only cared that Mr. Todd exercised the closest thing to discipline over him, aside from his mother, who would sometimes lay down punishments that actually stuck, and something told him they were at the direction of Mr. Todd, in retaliation for the trouble he caused.

It wasn't strictly an adversarial relationship, he had no way to be one to the powerful fox. They clashed by proxy. It was a battle of wills, which often had Mrs. Lepus trapped in the middle. He really loved his mother, so there was still a twinge of guilt in him when he saw her have to stick up for him, and risk creating a rift in the solid partnership that was Jack Russel.

But no small twinge of guilt could move an energetic young mammal, especially when he was rewarded for being so cheeky. His mother could be pacified by a smile and a promise to behave. A little while of obedience and he could build up enough good will to buy himself another good bit of troublemaking. It was a situation that satisfied him and made everything idyllic and pleasant.

Until Jack's death.

Jack had been active, energetic, and extremely involved in all things, including in Peter's life. Teaching him his mechanical ways, as well as how to be involved in his community's life and ways to make the most of such a remote little collection of mammals. He was so busy he never stopped to consider his health. He refused to stay still, until he was forced to. He didn't linger long, but if that was good or bad was very much an open question.

There was a swirl of emotions in the wake of the sad event. Peter couldn't catch hold of anything concrete in his young mind. He was angry at indifferent fate and occasionally at the clinic doctor that did nothing because there was nothing to do. Sorrow flooded every place that anger wasn't seething, over the loss itself and the lost opportunities. There had been so many more lessons to learn, so many more adventures in the lea and forest that could never be had. The most painful thing was the confusion.

Life moved on, while he was locked in his state of anger and sorrow, everything seeming to move in fast-forward. Everyone was actually getting on with their lives, as if nothing had ever happened. He wasn't the type to just move on and accept things. He owned his emotions, kept them and groomed them like dark pets. He let the twisting emotions have their way within, keep him prickled and rankled. He was brittle, unpleasant to his sisters who tried to get him to be happy, and even to his mother. He had actually yelled at her. His guilt would have been greater, but she hadn't waited.

They had said it was a proper amount of time, but no amount of time was enough in Peter's estimation. His mother should have remained a widow forever. The understanding of how sad she was all on her own could not penetrate the guard beasts of his anger and sorrow. Her smile, when she was with Mr. Todd, was like a betrayal. She wasn't allowed it. But in the end his anger wasn't remaining on his mother. All the blame, all the disdain, could be heaped on the sloping shoulders of Mr. Todd.

He took no pleasure in the small party that had been arranged, to more formally introduce the Lepus family to the Todd house staff, and perhaps acclimate them to the surroundings. It was certainly more impressive than their meager cabin/burrow, with lovely decorations and more electronic devices. Mr. Todd even had a large television and a computer. The triplets were entranced by the whole matter.

Peter saw through it instantly. He had won a goldfish at the Carrot Days festival the prior year, the first time he had ever gone to such a big town as Bunnyburrow proper. He had had to place the bagged fish into the filled bowl he had prepared, to get it used to the temperature of the water. They were being made used to the water of the bowl they were going to be trapped in. He hated the idea that he was being bought, being trained to accept this terrible thing.

Bea couldn't help but see it. She had been buffeted by Peter's petulance and could read his very unsubtle features. No amount of nice scenery seemed to impress him and nothing looked to be moving him. He retained his bearing and brought a pall to the proceedings.

"Peter is still... being Peter..." She whispered to Russel, indicating Peter standing in a corner, giving a scowling look to everything. He was dressed well, at least, in the fancy blue coat that Russel had given him as a birthday gift; Russel was reasonably lavish with gifts for the Lepus family. As much as Peter disliked what it represented, he knew it was only right to have it on.

"I think I need to have a long-overdue talk with him..." Russel mumbled back.

"Oh Russel... do you have to?" Bea queried with a look of sadness.

"Not quite what you're thinking. But he needs to have some things clarified," Russel answered.

"Alright, dearest. I hope it goes well," Bea sighed, rising on her toes to kiss Russel on the cheek.

Peter noticed the soft kiss and huffed, keeping his steely gaze as he watched Russel slowly approach. "Are you enjoying yourself, Peter?"

"It's not that great. I don't get why everyone is so amazed by all of this," Peter snorted.

"Yes, well... kits your age are often not moved by such things," Russel chuckled. "I think it's time we had a little talk that has been a long time coming."

Peter scowled deeper, and looked to his mother, as he always did. "No. Mom isn't going to let that happen. You don't get to push me around, you're not my dad."

"Peter..." Bea looked at him with a stern expression. "Go with Mr. Todd. I agree that you two need to talk, especially if that's the attitude you have."

Peter turned a hateful glare on Russel, once again feeling that his influence had turned his mother against him. "Fine! Talk to me and do it fast."

"This is something that must be private. Please, join me in the den," Russel motioned to an open door to a short downward hall leading to the finely appointed electrically lit den with the great fireplace of the house.

"Gotta show off your big, fancy den. Our den is just fine. We don't need a big den..." Peter grumbled, paws in his coat pockets as he tromped himself down into the den.

Russel followed along behind, taking a moment to go to the fireplace. He carefully stacked the logs, with some dried moss as tinder, opened the flue and set the match to it, getting a cheery fire going in a moment. He took a seat in a high-backed, comfortable chair at the fireside, motioning for Peter to take the other.

Peter petulantly took the second chair, angled slightly between the fire and Russel, his attention drawn to the licking flames behind the metal mesh screen after he noted that the fox had not brushed off his front, bits of bark and powdered moss clinging to his fine blue frock coat. "I didn't think you ever let yourself get dirty, you're such a rich big shot and all."

Russel shook his head and softly tsked in response. "Oh Peter, Peter, Peter... no mammal is shamed by hard work, as they say. A bit of moss and bark brushes and washes off easily enough. You know how much I love my garden and how diligently I tend it. I do hope you have found the tidbits you nick from it to be to your liking."

Peter scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told you it wasn't me. I don't care what Benji told you, he's a liar."

"It was B-, that is, it was your mother that told me, Peter, because she heard you admit it to your friends," Russel softly noted.

"She did not! She wouldn't! She loves me!"

"Yes, she does. Loves you enough to let you get in trouble when it would do you the most good. She will let you get away with things, of course, but if it serves you she will allow you to face the consequences of your actions. She's a loving mother and a very good doe. She will make a wonderful wife..."

"She was my mom first!" Peter hit the arms of his chair and stared with slitted pupils at Russel. "And even if she's marrying you my dad was the best!"

Russel cycled through several reactions, including anger, and sorrow before settling on a slightly pained expression. "You don't need to tell me how good of a buck Jack was. We built this community into what it is, together. He was your father and that was special. But he was my friend for many a year, and you may not want to hear this, but he would be happy to see me with Bea. Happy."

"Liar!" Peter snarled, hopping off the chair with a huff. "I'm not going to listen to you any-"

"Peter," Russel intoned, in a deep, growling voice. He wasn't angry, he wasn't pleading, he was stern. In some sense it was a callback to older days, the commanding sternness of a predator asserting himself. "Sit. Down. Your mother agreed this talk was overdue, and we are going to have it."

Peter was momentarily shaken, the demand clashing with his naturally rebellious attitude. But he had to obey the orders of an elder, on some level, even if he hated it. He slowly took his seat again, once more looking into the fire. "I don't believe you."

"You have little enough reason, I know. Even in this enlightened hamlet, you might think that a fox and a rabbit could work together but not...  _work... together_..." Russel chuckled as his quintessential 'dad joke' went over about as well as most tended to. "But... it's true. More to the point, it was ultimately Bea's decision. Not just this time, the first time."

A silent moment passed between the two, interrupted only by the soft crackling of the fire and filtered conversation from the top of the sloping hallway. "The first time?" Peter sounded genuinely curious, his petulance drained by the surprising statement.

"It is a strange thing to contemplate that out in this removed location, where the average Zootopian assumes a highly conservative and backward mind, we are actually very... open. Yes, Peter. Years ago, Jack and I both had designs on your mother. In the end, it was actually a supremely difficult decision for her, but she chose him, and I was happy that they both were happy."

Peter gave a derisive snort and leaned back in his chain. "Yeah, right."

"Peter, you're a bright kit, you can reason out the truth of what I'm saying. I would never have worked so well with him if I had held any ill will. We were still able to work and be wonderfully effective together."

"Fine... but you still keep getting me in trouble..."

"No... no, do not attempt such a thing. Act your age and try to be sensible. I did nothing. You did all those things yourself. It's all your doing. You chose to steal, you chose to lie, you chose to vandalize. You can claim it was charming and cheeky, but it was still wrong, and it was proper for you to be punished. I would have wished it was more consistently but it happened and that is for the best."

"I'm... I'm just a kid and I get into trouble..." Peter mumbled, burrowing further into the chair.

"Children grow up. That's proper and necessary, to ensure that what we were turns into what we could and should be. Yes, these things are to be expected but should not be seen as acceptable or proper. They are expected, not admirable. You don't have to accept my words; after all, you dislike me. But please at least keep them with you. And try to remember, whatever you may think of me, I wanted good things for you, like your mother and Jack."

Another period of heavy silence followed, neither mammal saying a word until Peter's voice whispered, "He was a great guy."

A beatific smile grew on Russel's muzzle. "You'll find me the first one to agree with you wholeheartedly. Handsome, charming, talented and smart. I don't know if Bea made the right choice, I'm rather biased, but she made a smart one no matter what. I know this is hard for you, coming at a pace I'm sure you feel is improper. But it was her pace to set. Do you think it means she loved him any less?"

The reply took a long time, and came in another whisper. "No..."

"No, of course not. She just loves me as well. She's a doe full of love, Peter, and you know it. She loves Francine, Marigold and Cynthia, and immensely so. And as I said, she adores you. She loves you enough to let you get in trouble when needed and let you be energetic when it is appropriate. In her own way she is using her caring to shape you into a fine gentlemammal who, perhaps, will take up a prime position in our community, or maybe venture off to some bigger place, with your head full of ideas, and lessons on how to be a proper mammal."

The simple talk, warm, direct and gentle, had cracked his defenses, but some trace of the snarling emotions remained, and made Peter say, with a hateful iciness, "You'll never be my dad. Jack was."

The confusion in emotional response returned again to Russel's countenance, with more pain than before. He took several deep, calming breaths, trying to keep his mien as neutral as possible. "Yes. He raised you, cared for you, taught you. He did all of that and I will never, ever deny all that he did for you. Your feelings for him are valid, proper and as strong as I would expect from a good lad. I'm very glad you feel that way. But I have one small request, just one."

"What?" Peter huffed, eyes still slitted and shining in the firelight.

"I want you to understand that now, I care for you in the same manner. Reject me, be petulant as you like. But I will still care for you. When I have married Bea, yes, I will be your father. Stepfather. Use any term. But I will be that. I am not here to replace Jack, not in your mother's heart or in yours. I want to be an addition, not a replacement. She will love me, not 'instead of', but 'too.' And if, in the fullness of time, you find it in you, I want you to think of me in terms of 'too' as well. But only if you wish."

Peter twitched his nose, processing the new information and the calm delivery. "Can I go now? I wanna see the house more."

Russel nodded slowly, rising grandly from his chair and approaching the fire, pulling a bucket of sand from a small alcove to smother the flames. "Of course, Peter. Son. Take your sisters, I'm sure they'd love to have a brave explorer leading them around."

A small smile twitched the side of Peter's muzzle. "They probably would. Thanks for the talk, Mr. Todd." With that he scampered away.

Russel came up a bit later, sidling up to Bea and giving her a kiss on the top of the head. She noted he was still a little dirty, with sand added to the bark and moss. "Even with bucks behind you you manage to work up grime."

"Jack truly taught me the value of hard work. I can never thank him enough," Russel chuckled.

Bea looked to her children, Peter grandly leading his sisters through one room and into another, crossing the main hall each time. "A successful talk, I see. A fireside chat with his father did him a world of good."

"Stepfather," Russel sighed. "Stepfather."

"He'll learn someday. He'll learn how much you loved me, and how much you loved Jack. Oh Jack... you wanted so much to be attracted to us both. But you knew you just couldn't pretend. The Solaterra Fiffarah in Bunnyburrow would have seen right through you and you knew it."

"Such a handsome buck. His kisses were so awkward but he tried. I wanted to have a burrow marriage with you two. I think he suffered most of all..."

"It's why he let you be with me, why he was so happy when Peter was born..." Bea settled comfortably against Russel and watched her children.

"I'm happy no one has said anything. They really had respect for us both. But the children are getting a bit talkative about his uniqueness. And we just kept him from being noticed at the Carrot Days festival. Should we tell him after the wedding?"

"In time, in time... for right now it's all too much. He's just getting comfortable with this change. For right now, let him be. Let him believe that somewhere out there there really are other red rabbits with sharp teeth in slim muzzles, with slitted eyes and a short brush. He's always going to be your son, even if he doesn't know."

Russel looked on Peter with pride, finally smiling and enjoying himself. "If news from Zootopia is true, there will be. Those like us, we've always existed. There are others of his kind. And in the future, they won't be hidden away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there are a lot of Beatrix Potter references.
> 
> Fiffarah- More worldbuilding, this is the title for a Solaterra church priestess; a priest would be a Fifrah.
> 
> Burrow Marriage- A very rare, still-legal, Solaterra church mediated form of polygamy, effectively always among rabbits in some way. The participants are all equally married to each other, which requires that at least two participants be bisexual because healthy sexual expression and shared love are integral parts of a burrow marriage. As implied here, Jack simply wasn't bisexual no matter how hard he tried to be, while Russel was. For that reason, he was open and accepting of Bea having a child with Russel, which would have been the outcome anyhow.


	6. Even though I could fail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benji Clawhauser goes out on his own, to have a night on his own.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Six- Even though I could fail**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

Precinct One of Zootopia did a fairly brisk bit of business on most days, the press of mammals creating conflicts that sadly sometimes required the intervention of the police. Officers passed into and out of the spacious main hall, occasionally with cuffed figures along with them. At the center of the organized chaos was the reception desk, which housed the cheerily beating heart of the station, Officer Benjamin Clawhauser.

Clawhauser served many important functions in the precinct, from emergency central dispatch to general reception to morale. His eternal cheerfulness and bubbly nature made him effectively the mascot of the station. Everyone loved him, everyone respected the work he did, and everyone enjoyed having him around. At work.

It wasn't that he was a pariah after hours, far from it. He was invited out to plenty of birthday parties, celebrations of many kinds, seasonal gatherings, church holidays of Solaterran, Selenic and Peaceground varieties, and naturally, the wedding of Judy and Nick. He was the best mammal, after all. But it was always a group event, and selected by someone else.

His own ideas were not overtly rejected, but they were often waved off. His slight monomania concerning Gazelle might have had an impact on that, but he also tended to choose the same things, mostly karaoke. He did just like to sing, even if he was only okay at it. But it was clear his constant selection of Gazelle was eliciting more polite smiles and claps than pure enjoyment.

He wasn't upset, but it was slightly lonely. He knew all of his work friends, knew all about their lives, and could be relied on to help with their problems. They were open, by and large, especially the more friendly and charming ones like Judy, Nick, Francine and, surprisingly, Major Friedkin, when she was in from the Academy. But he was often on his own.

To an extent it suited him; he had enough bubbly energy inside to sustain himself in the evenings and enjoy his time alone. The real problem was, he was alone. He could discuss it with folk in the precinct but they couldn't do much for his lonely heart. Dating on the job was... strange. Bogo didn't care, until he did, which usually translated into when the relationship impacted job performance. Plus, there was no one for Ben in the precinct, because of his nature.

Everyone knew Ben was gay. Exactly zero had a problem with it. Judy had been confused for a time because her experience with same-gender attraction was bisexual bunnies, an exceptionally common thing. There were other gay officers, but they had outside partners or were just not the type that either went for Ben or that Ben went for, like Grizzoli or Johnson.

After another good day of dispatch and greeting mammals, Ben settled into his cozy little den, at peace with the world. His apartment was like many others owned by police officers, a small one-bedroom in an area folks tended to call a Cop Block because his building had a few other officers, and more were scattered in other apartment buildings due to the closeness to the station and the acceptable price range for their salaries. He had done his best to turn the off-white cube into a home.

His plain walls were practically wallpapered in sparkly Gazelle posters, and her little trinkets and tchochkes were scattered around on every flat surface, happily sitting on his granny's silk doilies. His furniture was mostly second-paw, but practically slip-covered with microfiber throws, largely Gazelle-endorsed or with her image on it. Or the Tiger Dancers. He had plenty of the Striper Squad all around, with their handsome faces and chiseled physiques. Not his most ideal type but still undeniably delicious, as others around the station admitted.

His bedroom was just enough for someone of his corpulent frame, with his closet stuffed with his uniforms, a small chest of drawers with casual clothes and miscellany. Despite what some rumors around the station said, he did not have a Gazelle body pillow. He did have a body pillow, but only to make sleeping easier. She was on his comforter and the Stripers were on his pillowcases but the body pillow had a plain case.

He was on his recliner, with his paws up and a sweet, slow song playing on his little MP3 speaker setup. He had picked up the latest edition of the Zootopia Reader, the weekly free magazine for the slightly artsy and slightly aware. Mostly ads for local places and classifieds, and a small section for the legal distributors of catnip. He had finished off the feature article on the interesting loosely defined communities on the fringes of the most rural areas of the Tri-Burrow area and how surprisingly enlightened they could be and was browsing the ads for Savannah Central clubs and restaurants. He had often considered trying something new for outings with the others from work.

He caught sight of some familiar horns and a mane of golden locks in an ad he hadn't seen while looking through before. Thanks to a misprint in the ad he couldn't see more than that, except for the dress of someone else. The copy was also slightly mangled but he clearly saw '-elle' in the list of performers along with the name of the place,  **Snouts**.

He had never heard of the place, and considered that it might be a bad misprint but another thought came to him. Gazelle had been getting back to her roots and doing concerts in bars and clubs around Zootopia and other localities. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. He had never heard of this Snouts place, and it might just have been a karaoke place with a costume contest. But the possibility was too good to pass up. Thankfully for him, the address was intact, and was only a short jaunt away.

He dressed for going out in a style that had been very clearly influenced by Nick's subtle actions. His normal wardrobe used to be a polo shirt and jeans, in a variety of muted colors. He had changed over to pastel undershirts, rather loud open button-ups with a variety of nature themes and lots of comfortable, slightly baggy slacks. Somehow, it all seemed to pull together for him. Sure, he was a few gold chains away from being a Sahara Square used car dealer but Nick said it worked, and Judy agreed. That meant something.

The night was brisk but pleasant, a little bit of the breeze coming off of some spillover cold from Tundratown, but not enough to be unpleasant. Ben was thickly padded enough to make it less of a problem, and it did make the walk much easier to take. His lifestyle was sedentary and he accepted that, but he still took walks now and again, to save on bus and cab fare. It also saved him from the hassle and expense of owning a car that probably would have been a bit ill-fitting if he got the standard cheetah-style model.

The streets of Zootopia were never lonely or clear, as there was a never-ending cycle of diurnal, nocturnal and two forms of crepuscular mammals, always going to work or coming from them, or savoring some form of leisure. Even in the middle of the day it was possible to pass drunks off to sleep out a day before going out for another night.

The evening, like the dawn, had the largest population as crossover was heaviest, so Ben had to wend his way though quite a sea of mammals, all of various sizes. It was something of a comfort to the rotund feline, as his ample bulk was still nothing much compared to, say, a portly elephant or a particularly heavyset bear. His pear-like physique had always had some stigma, given his species' usual look, but he was happy about it, as he was with most things in his life.

The crowds thinned out as he went deeper into the heart of the city, as there were more places to absorb the mammalian overflow. He was in a different part of the club district from the places with the karaoke bars or the cop bars were at. There was still plenty of cheerful neon and thumping bass from inside the buildings, along with a few bouncers at clubs with particularly provocative names or exteriors.

**Snouts**  lacked both thumping bass and a bouncer. It was another neon temple, the fading light making the bright tubes even more notable and lending a happier environment as it gave a glowing wonder to what was an otherwise drab building. The most interesting parts were the posters of what were clearly the featured acts. Ben was a lover of pop music but his focus was very narrow, so he didn't quite recognize the ones he saw. They all looked very pretty, maybe a bit heavy on the makeup but just what was expected out of a pop starlet.

They were probably up-and-coming ladies, with a solid gig outside of internet fame. Just like Gazelle. They would pay their dues in smaller places and hopefully get picked up by a big promoter. This was just the kind of place that would be on a nostalgic look-back kind of tour. With giddy butterflies in his stomach he pulled open the door and entered.

Inside was a sea of pastels and softness. The walls were napped to give them a soft texture, sheets of diaphanous material hung down or were strung around, slightly bunched and twisted to look like garlands, and there was plenty of soft velveteen curtains drawn open in every door frame. The long bar was situated off to the left of the short entrance hallway, with the majority of the space filled with small, round tables with three chairs apiece, with the sitters naturally placed to look up to the big stage. On the far right were lines of booths, the backs and seats made of super shiny glitter-infused pink vinyl, all puffed up and looking comfy.

Up on the stage a very pretty black wolf in a slinky red sheath dress was baying out a deep alto version of Catty Purry's  _Roar_. It might have been a cover, but it was a very nice cover, sold with a full measure of emotion. Ben liked what he heard and gave a hearty bit of applause as he wedged himself into one of the booths. It wasn't too tight of a fit but it was clearly sized for a slightly smaller mammal, or at least one of his size, not with his girth.

After a short space he was approached by a hyena dressed in a pink-and-white checkered dress with a crisp white apron, like a classic diner waitress. He was handed a menu and given a smile. "What can I get you to start, handsome?"

Ben gave his trademark huge smile, pushing in on his chubby cheeks in appreciation. "Awww thank you! I guess... I'll have the cicada chips and mango salsa and a grasshopper, with two umbrellas. I'm mostly here for Gazelle."

The waitress quickly took down the order, but gave a slightly confused look at Ben's comment before something clicked. "Oh! Oh I get you. You got here just in time. She's coming right up. I recognize a first timer. Trust me, you'll love it."

"Oh I know it! I can't wait!" Ben practically squealed out his response, practically vibrating in his seat from excitement.

It wasn't long at all, as the hyena had said. The wolf had done one more Catty Purry song,  _Last Frededas Night_ , before being cheered off stage. Ben did the best he could while enjoying his chips and salsa, and occasionally sipping from his very well-made grasshopper. It was good for bar food, good enough to make him trust that they could make a decent piece of fish. He'd give a proper order once the hyena came back around. His consideration of that, however, ended when the familiar strains of the extended version of  _Try Everything_ sounded.

"I messed up tonight, I lost another fight..." The voice was velvety smooth and rich, but wrong. All wrong. Ben had listened to any number of albums, internet videos and even that great live performance. Everything about the tone was wrong. The accent was spot on but it was just too deep. Much like with the wolf, the tone was a deep alto, singing the song properly but pitch-shifted down.

The curtains on stage parted and spotlights popped on, illuminating the singer. What greeted Ben's eyes was not Gazelle, but a reasonable copy. He knew her look well, and while it was an excellent imitation, that's all it was. The horns looked mostly right but were slightly longer than the ones Gazelle sported. The sequined red dress hugged shapely curves but the whole construction of the body was off, with a slightly taller and broader frame, though still with the same juicy hips and long limbs. There was also just a bit too much makeup present, much more and of a different type than Gazelle would actually use.

The gazelle singer wandered down from the stage to go through the crowd, singing to the mammals in the crowd, slowly approaching Ben. The close-up look was all it took to confirm. His eyes were huge and liquid, and he bit his lower lip while quivering as the low voice caressed across his ears. "You... you're not Gazelle..." he squeaked through a tight throat, the comment audible only to himself and the Gazelle impersonator.

It was said on an instrumental break, which was good as the gazelle with him looked slightly stricken, snapping the smile back while strolling away and taking up the singing right on cue. Ben was left stunned, watching the singer walk away. He remained in that state after the song set was over, and he was approached by the hyena again.

"Wow, you look pretty moved. Must be a real Gazelle fan, someone who can really appreciate all the craft..."

"That's not Gazelle," Ben squeaked.

"Oh... you were serious. I wasn't sure... hon, do you know what this place is?"

"It's a... club for aspiring pop stars? Like Gazelle said she was going to tour?" Ben uncertainly said.

The hyena gave a laugh as usual for hyenas and sighed. "This is a drag club. Gotta hit it direct. A drag club. That first one? Her stage name is Catty Putty. The one you were just watching, that's the newest but a serious favorite, Glamzelle. She's a sweetheart on the stage and really nice off of it, too."

The gears clicked slowly but steadily in Ben's head. Being born in Zootopia had made him more cosmopolitan but he was only theoretically acquainted with certain concepts. He had never been to a drag place, only heard of it. "She? But... I thought..."

"Oh, completely new. Yeah, when the drag is on, she's a she. When it's off, he's Stott Thomson. It's how we work around here, singer or not. It's how drag goes. I mean, you can call me Louise but that's just on the clock."

Ben sat there, completely lost. Even so, his less active brain was able to automatically order a big chocolate sundast with extra fudge, extra whipped caramelized coconut milk and lots of extra jimmies. It wasn't a box of glazed yeasts but it would suffice. His sweets budget had a  _lot_  of wiggle room in it when it came to going out.

"Hey..." Ben was well into demolishing the mounds of chocolate ice cream and various extras when he heard the soft voice cross his ears. Gazelle, pitch-shifted. "Got room for one more?"

There was a certain shamelessness when he was eating sweets, which left Ben chubby-cheeked, mouth smeared with chocolate, caramel and jimmies. He mumbled out a full-mouthed comment before swallowing and nodding. "If you want to sit down. Uh... S-stott?"

"Glamzelle. I can tell you don't really get it but that's just how performers name themselves. It's a tradition."

"Okay... Glamzelle. That's a nice outfit. District Stampede tour. You got it perfect."

"A real fan, I see. That's what I like, makes me feel more successful when I can impress them. I've seen folks be unimpressed, but I have never seen anyone be  _crushed_. You looked like I had just eaten Gazelle and the Striper Squad in front of your face."

"I was just expecting something different," Ben confessed, avoiding returning to that crushed looked by packing down more ice cream.

"The tour... but... how did you get the impression Gazelle was actually here?"

"I saw an ad in the Zootopian Reader. It got a little... mangled. But I recognized the horns and the tuft, and... I thought..."

"I shouldn't be disappointed, but I can't help that..." Glamzelle sighed. "I know I play up the Gazelle thing, most everyone has favorite covers, but I want mammals to come in and see me for me. Come for the impersonation, stay because they like it."

"I'm sorry..." Ben mumbled, looking down, his plump cheeks fairly drooping.

"Hey, a mega-fan like you would never be impressed by anything less than the real thing," Glamzelle chuckled. He quickly asked, "What are the Stripers names?"

"Sudipto, Anton, Harjeet, and her husband Hu Lin," Ben answered, offhandedly, while digging for unmelted ice cream.

"Easy question... what's the eleventh track by standard listing on her eighth album?"

"Trick question,  _The Palm Sessions_  was a session extras bootleg they stopped going after and  _Canci_ _ó_ _nes de las Pel_ _í_ _culas_  was a cover album of famous movie songs, only two of which she had anything to do with, not one of her official albums. There are only six canon studio albums, five if you consider album one and two a separated double album, since they were released as one after the electronic versions got really hot from club and radio play," Ben smoothly replied.

"Should have expected..." Glamzelle chuckled. "Did you have fun at least? I get being a fan, but you can still enjoy other things."

"You got her down perfect," Ben said with a trademark huge and sunny smile, still smeared with chocolate. "Your voice is low but just a different pitch. And your outfit, perfect. The makeup... it looks nice, just not her level of heaviness."

"Can't help that," Glamzelle tittered. "It takes a lot of makeup to slim this face and bring out all the feminine softness. Plus, drag makeup leans heavy, it's just how we do it."

"I never knew that. I was, um, never into drag. I'd heard of it but I like karaoke and the other folks at the precinct like more regular bars," Ben admitted.

"Oh, you're a cop?"

"Yep!" Ben chirped, snapping into a salute that looked a little silly with all the ice cream around his mouth. "ZPD Precinct One, Officer Benjamin Clawhauser, emergency dispatch, front desk public relations, and now and then I help with paperwork and being a good listener."

"Heh... I probably should have expected that. You seem like the warm and friendly type, just right for talking to folks."

"Aww thank you! That's so nice of you to say."

"I mean it. Honestly, this is kind of weird on my part, just sitting down with a complete stranger because they kinda got bummed I wasn't Gazelle. I'm starting to think this was something of a bad idea..." Glamzelle sighed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"No, no! This was all on me," Ben insisted, reaching out to put a paw on Glamzelle's hoof. "I really should learn how to roll with the punches. I should have just appreciated the art of what you're doing."

Glamzelle looked down to the paw on his hoof, a little surprised, but with a small smile beneath the surprise. A bit of happiness under the jolt. "Thanks for that. From a big time fan, that really means a lot."

"I should bring the folks from work around here. They might like it. Judy might be a little confused but she adapts to the city pretty quickly."

"Is she from out of town?"

"Bunnyburrow. But she gets things pretty quickly. The first day she arrived she was all go, and then she got put on a super big case really quickly."

"Wait, Judy Hopps, the rabbit cop that married a fox? You work with her?" Glamzelle asked, looking incredulous.

"And her husband, Nick! Now that's a story..." Ben motioned over to the hyena, who was across the room. "Louise! Can I have a small vanilla sundast and... whatever she gets?"

"Brownie and red wine, Louise, make it a sharing thing," Glamzelle laughed.

"Coming up, extra quick!" Louise called back.

"So like I said, Nick is a big time character., and he wasn't always interested in being a cop. When Judy met him he was with this little kid... well, not a kid, a friend of his who's a fennec fox, but he can look like a kid..."

Ben's excited, chipper voice flowed like water, relating interconnected stories about the mammals in his life, while Glamzelle sat across from him and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Reader: A little shout-out to my hometown weekly mag. I love the crossword puzzle.
> 
> Snouts: A reference to Lips, a local family-friendly drag club. I've never been but always wanted to go


	7. Sisi Ni Sawa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Kion Pride goes exploring and finds far, far more than he ever expected.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Seven- Sisi Ni Sawa**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

**Zootopia and The Lion King characters belong to Disney. Used for entertainment purposes.**

Living in the middle of Savannah Central was a magnificent experience. It was the thumping heart of the finest city in the world, filled to the brim with mammalian species of all sorts. For a teen of some means, with a sliver more social cachet than most of his peers, freedom was especially meaningful.

Kion Pride was the son of old money, second child of Simba Pride of Pride Heavy Manufacturing. The Pride family had been one of the early ones who carved out a niche in Zootopia, using leonine strength and surety to become a leading manufacturer of large machinery and parts. The name carried clout in the town, putting them head and shoulders above most predators.

Normally, he would be with his circle of friends, but he had chosen to be daring, and not only gone into the heat of Sahara Square but had moved into the sub-community of Canyonlands alone. He didn't seem to appreciate the difficulty that could result, given his choice of attire, being the dark blue shorts and starched white shirt with a blue tie that marked him as a member of Savannah Preparatory Academy.

It wasn't especially dangerous, being largely a built-up area, but it had its places of relative danger. There were more than a few artificial wadis, occasionally swept clear by running water from the sea into the local processing plant, which led to the desalination system. Most of them were closely monitored but a few of the outlying areas were left mostly alone, especially in and near the neighborhood of Hyenahurst, the affluent area of North Sahara Square.

The deeper crevasses tended to be the inhabited areas, houses carved into the rock and wired like any other home, with outlets for entering and exiting on the side opposite the canyon, with some of the better ones having carved patios overlooking the canyon.

Kion was walking under one of those areas, not taking much notice of the rich condo blocks over his head until laughter began to echo around the wadi, the walls making it seem to be coming from everywhere. He cast his head around, shaking his red mane as he searched for the source.

"Look there, boys! I didn't know there was such a thing as a preppy headbanger!" A male voice snidely called out, still lost to echoing confusion.

"Yeah! Yeah! Preppy. Uh... what's preppy?" A dimmer voice queried, less impressive but still hard to locate.

"Ugh... it's what your parents think you turn into when they send you to Hyenahurst Academy. Doesn't help when you're a dim bulb to start."

"Oh yeah! Wait a minute..."

"Who's out there? Show yourselves!" Kion finally caught sight of the ones in question, a small collection of hyenas around his age, all hanging out on one of the stone patios. They were all in various kinds of casual clothing, but the one that presented himself as the leader was wearing a dark green vest with a familiar patch on it. "You weren't kidding. Hyenahurst students. What's the matter? Still mad we kicked your tails at field hockey?"

"What do you care? I don't remember seeing any wussy lion on the field! You lion guys are so prissy and soft. What's the matter? Afraid your mane'll get dirty?" The hyena leader laughed uproariously, prompting his friends to join in.

"Yeah! Just afraid you'll mess up all that gel and conditioner!" One of the other hyenas by the leader, with a huge jaw, stroked the puff of fur atop his head and made exaggerated kissy faces.

"Hey! Lions do more than just preen you know!" Kion shouted, shaking a fist at them.

"Since when?" The lead hyena threw himself over the stone railing and dropped the short distance to Kion's level, followed by his small collection of compatriots. "Prove it, lion. Take a swing."

"What? No! I'm not gonna fight you!" Kion shouted, the refusal echoing. He took a step back, eyes casting around for the best way to go to escape.

The hyenas quickly fanned out, responding to subtle cues from the leader and each other, adjusting their positions to cover the major avenues of escape, with an easy opportunity to shift positions to cover obvious gaps. "I guess Savannah dorks are afraid of real confrontation."

"We're not afraid of anything! But there's no reason to fight you guys. It's not even fair. There's more of you and you're all... rugby players?"

"Aww, he knows who we are!" The huge-jawed hyena grinned and looked proud.

"It's not hard to guess we're on the rugby team, Chungu, we're tough and we've got team skills," the leader snorted.

"I never saw a male hyena that was tough and had sports skills," Kion huffed, continually checking for a gap in the ring he could get through before the athletic hyenas closed it.

"Hey, we can be plenty tough! Hyenahurst beat you chumps and don't forget it!" The leader screamed.

"Oh you know there were no hyena boys on the team, Janja," a teasing, female voice called out, ending with a laugh. "You might crash into each other over a ball but no one would give you delicate things any sticks."

"Hey! Say that to my face! Where are you?" Janja looked around, his fellow rugby players also scanning around for the source of the voice.

The sound of someone landing drew everyone's eyes over to a space across the wadi and slightly back from Janja's patio. It was a female hyena, short and thickly built but all smiles, in a brilliantly blue sundress and red-and-green striped tights. "Yoo-hoo! Over here!"

Janja snarled a little, ears flattening a touch before popping back up. "Who are you? What makes you think you can butt in on this?"

"Well, I wanted to make it a fairer fight. I think I balance it out a little more," the hyena teen said, laughing as a small jaw-snap at one of the boys make him cringe back.

Janja growled loudly, holding up his fists. "What makes you think you make a difference?"

"Because I'm a girl, and all hyena boys listen to girls, especially when they're also hyenas."

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do to make me listen to you?" Janja shoved his way past Kion, who had been trying to get in his way, slowly stalking up to the shorter hyena.

"What will I do... let me think..." She tapped her cheek, looking supremely unconcerned. "I know!" She shot a hard look at all the other hyenas, before she fixed her gaze on Janja as she spoke. "I'll tell  **all**  your mothers on you, and you know I can do it easily. You might not be afraid of me, but you'll be good little boys and run off for your mothers!"

At the threat of their mothers the ringing males ran off down the wadi toward one of the exit points. Janja found himself faced by the smugly smiling girl and Kion growling behind him. "I'm going, but not because I'm scared of you. And you, prissy lion!" He whipped around and jabbed his finger into Kion's chest. "You come back to Hyenahurst and you'll regret it." A snap from the girl sent him scampering to his patio, scrabbling on the rocks until he could climb up and over, rushing back into the condo.

"That Janja... I know that boys can do anything girls can do, but sometimes it's just too fun and easy to send them running from a threat or two," she said with a high, hyenaish giggle. "I'm Jasiri. And it's easy to see who you are, Kion Pride."

"Asante, Jasiri. But... how do you know my name? Why would someone from Hyenahurst know someone like me?"

Jasiri laughed again, but in a much more playful way. "I'm only here visiting my aunt. You're just lucky her condo is across the wadi from Janja's and it's on the lowest level. I actually live in Savannah Central. And I know you because your dad is a very big, very public contributor to my father's Sactuary."

"Your father's... Sanctuary? You mean the big PUCA place we go to for Frededas service? Are you saying that Tender Fisi is your dad?"

Jasiri stood proudly and nodded. "Tender Faraja Fisi, the best Tender in the whole Peaceground service."

Kion laughed softly. "Well, he's at least a lot of fun. The others are kind of boring."

"I'll be sure to tell them you said that."

"Oh! No! I mean... they..."

Jasiri laughed again and softly elbowed Kion in the stomach. "Relax, I'm kidding."

"Yeah, I knew that!"

"Sure you did, Kion..." Jasiri motioned to one of the stone patios. "Wanna come in? My aunt made some termite and cricket cookies and fat grub sandwiches. She likes meerkat cooking and I'm sold on it. Unless you lions don't stoop to anything that isn't fish."

"Are you kidding? My granddads raised my dad on meerkat food and he got all of us into it too," Kion said, licking his lips. He started to scramble up to the indicated patio, grunting and snorting, when he noticed Jasiri easily climbing up with holds he hadn't seen.

"Janja was right about one thing, you're not the athletic sort."

When Kion reached the lip of the patio he pulled himself up hard, practically jumping into the air, executing a graceful twist and aerial somersault and landing on his paws. "I'm not a field sports sort. I'm a gymnast."

Jasiri looked on Kion with a smoldering gaze and a predator-to-predator half-fang smile. "Well... now I'm impressed. I'll bet you're very lithe and wiry."

"Dad thinks I should do weightlifting. He says male lions are supposed to have a lot of bulk, especially if we have light manes. My great-uncle was skinny but he had a black mane, so he got all the girls."

Jasiri smoothly hooked her arm with Kion's and pulled him through the sliding glass door into the condo. "Did you know that the manliest of the hyena men is one who's tall, skinny and very lithe and quick?"

"Sounds like they'd make great gymnasts..." Kion said.

"Or that great gymnasts make hyena girls swoon," Jasiri laughed.

* * *

"And here I thought you were kidding, just to make me look at you weird," Jasiri's sister Madoa said with a polite laugh. She was leaning forward on a padded armchair, looking at Kion who was wearing casual jean shorts and a tank top marked with the Savannah Preparatory Academy insignia and the words  _Physical Education Department_.

She, Kion and Jasiri were all in the middle of a bright and airy living room, inside the home that was provided for the PUCA Head Tender of Savannah Central and family. The whole thing had a comfortable middle class suburbanite look about the décor and furnishings. IBEXA side-tables and bureaus, second-paw furniture, nature scenes and family photos in plain frames all over.

Jasiri settled her head beside Kion's from behind, her right cheek against his left cheek. "Nope! A lion built like the perfect hyena boy." She lifted one of Kion's arm, showing off the slender muscles that shifted and flexed with his slight motions. "And his belly just tucks in right to his slim waist, all with these kinds of smooth muscles."

Kion stood there, nose drying out and darkening, not quite sure what to do in the midst of the sisters talking about his figure. "Yeah, it helps me with my floor work and to keep me aerodynamic when flipping. Coach says I could be a swimmer, too. I'd just need to put all my muscles into proper use, but I'm not so big on water."

"You just pictured him all shiny, didn't you?" Madoa teased.

"Like I wouldn't when he put the idea in my head!" Jasiri laughed.

"I didn't realize lions were as easily directed by ladies as hyenas. But then, with such a nice one as my Jasiri I suppose it's natural you can't resist," a warm, deep, amused voice commented. "Don't let them bowl you over, young Mr Pride, unless you like it this way."

"Daddy!" Jasiri and Madoa both ran over to their father and gave him a tight hug, being embraced by him in return.

Faraja Fisi was a tall, slender, delicately featured male hyena. His spots were very dark, as were the darker parts of his pelt such as his paws and the bridge of his muzzle. His mop of hair was gathered up into a gelled forward-facing twist. On the far rear of his snout sat gold-rimmed pince-nez spectacles. He was in a very colorful single-piece garment that hung down almost to his paws. "Are my daughters mistreating you? They should know guests must be given great care, especially in the house of a Tender."

"It's all in good fun, daddy. He knows that I don't mean anything bad by it," Jasiri said, strolling back over to Kion and giving him a bump with one rounded hip.

"It's okay, Tender Fisi. I have a sister, and I get worse at home," Kion said, smiling a little.

"Yes, but your sister doesn't have designs on you. I know that look in a hyena girl's eye. Your mother did the same to me. Don't try to put things past me," Faraja said with mock seriousness.

Jasiri gave her usual musical laugh and squeezed Kion tightly to her side. "I don't think he minds, do you, Kion?"

"I hadn't actually thought about it. I just liked hanging out with you. You're way more energetic than my sister's friends, and I think they kinda wanna date me too. They just haven't said anything. I think it's my mane, too light. And I'm not bulky enough. If I was like that Janja guy from Hyenahurst they'd be all over me."

"I actually feel a little sorry for that poor lunk and most of his rugby friends," Jasiri admitted with a shake of her head. "Being big, bulky jock types won't get the attention of hyena ladies. There's one that's still small enough to be alright."

"Cheezi Mandoku. If he keeps out of trouble, he's taking me to Bug Burga next Moondas night, then to the movies," Madoa casually stated.

"How do you even meet someone from Hyenahurst? You never like going anywhere?" Jasiri asked.

"I visit Auntie Shenzi too, you know. He laughs like an idiot, his eyes bug out and he listens to his friends too much. But he's small, agreeable and has the most tender sensibilities. He cries at movies."

"He's also younger than you, did you ever think about that?" Jasiri fired back.

Madoa rolled her eyes and huffed. "I'm a year and a half older than you, and Cheezi has to be the same age as Kion there. As far as age gaps go that's barely cracking into one. You only think it's weird because of the grade thing."

"I think it's weird because he seems like a jerk," Kion opined.

All three of the hyenas in the room laughed in unison at the comment, Jasiri patting Kion softly on the arm "Oh how little you understand..."

"You see, some hyena boys get a little rebellious about the way hyena lives work. That's normal and acceptable. But they become especially hard-headed and very prone to posturing and emotional instability if they go too far in that direction. It's not that they're bad, they just tried too hard," Faraja said.

"It would be like... if a male lion started cutting his mane short, dying it tawny and getting all muddy and out of place, then started acting rude and overly physical," Jasiri explained.

"Well now it makes sense, but it's still not right," Kion insisted.

"They grow out of it sooner or later. Big hyenas like those might take longer but usually they do. It usually happens when someone looks past the attitude to give them a chance. And isn't that what's best in life? Giving chances to those that deep-down deserve it? We must remember that in the great Watering Hole of the world..."

"Oh daddy," Madoa interrupted, shaking her head. "It's not Frededas service, keep the speech in your pocket until the  **whole** unity is listening"

"It's my job. I have to bring folk together and make them live in harmony. I believe very strongly in 'teachable moments' like these, which allow me to naturally give lessons on the practical part of the Peaceground way. We need to live it. Sadly, not all the members of the unity live. They listen. Like... well, perhaps I shouldn't say it, given the company."

"He means your father," Jasiri flatly stated.

"You're not doing the hyena stereotype of blunt, pushy girls any favors, little sister," Madoa scolded.

"He has to know, he lives with him," Jasiri retorted.

"My... father?" Kion tilted his head a little. "I don't get it. He's all about the Peaceground stuff. He gives a lot of money and he's there every week. And he only sometimes plays around on his phone, but everyone does, usually when Sub-Tender Tigre is officiating."

"I'll be sure to tell him about that..." Faraja mused.

"I already used that joke, dad. It was hilarious," Jasiri said with a wide grin.

"But on a more serious note... you will find, young Mr. Pride, there is a great gulf between acting and being. I could wear bulky clothing to pump up my figure, put on accessories to give me tough features and snarl, looking for all the world like someone other than myself. But deep down I would still be soft, gentle and thoroughly hyenic, no matter how I looked. I could look like anything, but actions are the important factor. He's generous, yes. And publicly so. But does he truly act out of a moral sense, or to give a good appearance? There are some things about his past that you might not actually know. But tell me this, have you told him that you've been seeing my daughter?"

"Well, no.. he never asked and I didn't think he would care. He wanted me to date somebody, I just assumed anyone would be alright. I mean, he's fine with the lioness my sister is dating, and she comes from Happytown. Jasiri is a Tender's daughter, which means more respectability. He always uses that term when he wants me to go out with Zuri. I think he means 'with money and good parents.' I don't know about money, but you seem like a good parent, Tender Fisi. And I'll bet her mother is good too."

"Wealth doesn't matter much when the Church Association gives a stipend and percentage of donations. But my family is connected to good money. My sister lives in Hyenahurst after all. And yes, my wife is an excellent mother, a hard-working bug-winner, a fish-winner, even. It may seem a bit traditionalistic, a working mother, but it suits us. It's extra income for niceties, though most of it is put away for Jasiri and Madoa's educations as we really don't spend much on frivolous things."

"You haven't seen my room yet, and don't get any ideas about what might happen when you do, but it's pretty nicely decked out," Jasiri confided to Kion. "Lots of Gazelle and Hyena Gomez stuff."

" **Too much**  Gazelle and Hyena Gomez stuff, you mean," Madoa corrected with a sly grin.

"No such thing," Jasiri hmphed.

"But... look at your father's actions. Think about what they mean. Mention Jasiri in your own time. Let yourself enjoy this time you have. Live for unity and compassion."

Kion thought deeply on the words, while Jasiri and Madoa lightly bickered beside him. "Madoa, you said you're dating this Cheezi guy?"

"If he's lucky I will be," Madoa said with a hint of pride.

"So you're going back to Hyenahurst, then?"

"In time, yes. Why?"

"Because I think I know a good way to end a conflict and maybe make some important unity happen."

* * *

"When you said we were all going out, I didn't think it meant like this," Zuri grumped, the teen lioness standing with her arms across her chest as she regarded the group waiting for her at the tram station. The lioness was in her casual best, in a light orange sundress, with pink-tinted sunglasses on and a large sun hat resting on her head.

"I don't really mind. I mean, Kion says it's alright. Kiara, too. We have to trust our best friend, right?" Tiifu motioned for Zuri to come along, giving her best smile and showing off her braces. The freckled lioness was slightly more blandly made up than her friend, wearing skinny jeans and a Gazelle tour tee. She had on prescription lenses but they were at least in stylish frames.

"Yeah, you realize that Kion's been dating Jasiri for like... three weeks, right? What else were you thinking would happen?" Kiara giggled softly behind her hand, shaking her head a little. She was all decked out in a long blue-and-white skirt, a casual tank top with the words  _Love My Lioness_  in sparkly letters. She leaned herself against her girlfriend, Vitani, who was looking distinctly aloof, with a sly smile tugging on her lips.

Vitani's small puff of fur had been made up with gel into something very like a quiff, her eyes were darkly lined, she wore black lipstick and had on extremely distressed baggy jeans and a mesh top over a torn-off midriff shirt that had once been a full-size  _Guns N' Rodents_  classic tee a few sizes too big for her. "I mean, you could call it a double-date if you want, but you're not the one on the date, again."

"Vitani!" Kiara gave Vitani a light shove and then a kiss on the chin. "Be nice. Or no lip kisses. Probably shouldn't anyway, you're wearing that cheap drugstore lipstick again."

"I save the good stuff for real dates. When your little brother and his Tender's daughter girlfriend are along it's so not a time to use that up."

"You're a goth, I think that could get a little snark going if I felt like giving it," Jasiri said, giving Vitani a smug smile.

"I think she's a keeper," Vitani laughed.

"I can't believe this..." Zuri snorted. "So where are we going, anyway?"

."Hyenahurst. I've got a date with a guy who's small, bug-eyed and cries when cute animated things are far away from home," Madoa said. "He's a little too bulky but he has a sweet face and listens. Uh, for a lion it would mean he has a small mane but it's really, really dark."

"Small manes are really in right now. The slim size emphasizes muscles and shoulder width," Tiifu said with a bright smile.

"I can't go to Hyenahurst! I'm a cheerleader for Savannah Prep! It wouldn't look right," Zuri insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Your choice. You can change your mind but do it fast, the tram's coming," Madoa flatly noted.

"Fine! But only because I hate being left out. Bad enough Kion's already dating someone else..." Zuri sullenly took up the rear of the procession, sitting by herself and staring out the window as the tram took off into the Zootopian evening.

" _Hyenahurst Station! Now arriving, Hyenahurst Station! Mind the gap,"_  the slightly tinny automated voice announced, as the tram slowed to a stop in the well-lit station. Being a more affluent area, the tram station for Hyenahurst was slightly enclosed, a roof over the tram stop and over both sides of the platform, with a bridge over the tracks to allow for entry and egress on either side. The attached station was actually a building, with a small convenience store in three size categories, and a waiting area.

The waiting area was sparsely populated, but significantly, it contained Cheezi, in a nice pair of uniform slacks and a white shirt, holding a bouquet of violets. With him were his two closest friends on the rugby team, Chungu and Janja. He approached Madoa with great trembling and apprehension, thrusting his bouquet at her and giving his best predator-to-predator smile. "H-hi Madoa! Um... I got you these. They're pretty. L-like... me..?"

Madoa fixed Cheezi with a cold, haughty stare, making his tremble more and shrink down slightly. She suddenly snatched up his violets and smiled back at him. "Your bug eyes are adorable and you're just so short."

The words seemed to have the desired effect on Cheezi, a goofy, pleased smile spreading on his features and his body getting looser and more comfortable. "That's the sweetest thing anyone ever said. And she's older! An older, bigger hyena girl thinks I'm short and adorable!"

"Yeah, yea, don't brag, fur-brain! We can't all be short with weird bug eyes," Janja snorted, strolling up to give Cheezi a shove. He shrank back and tried to look cool while retreating from Madoa's snapping, snarling jaws.

Tiifu had split off from the group after they had entered the station, having caught sight of the unusually large and powerful-looking Chungu, who was clad in khaki slacks, a  _Rolling Bones_  tee and his Hyenahurst letterman's jacket. She fidgeted with her glasses, trying to avoid staring at his spiky tuft, and his very broad shoulders. "Uh, hi. M-my friend's brother is dating your friend's date's sister. I'm Tiifu. I hope you don't mind if I say but you have a really dark puff. Really, really dark. Like... super dark. That's not dye, right? I mean, it's so... perfect."

Chungu looked up at his head puff in some confusion. "Uh, no... I don't think so. It's all me." He smiled at her and looked pleased. "Does a dark puff mean something?"

"It would be like, um... if you had... a really pretty face. Really dark manes are a big, big thing. And, I know it's not a hyena thing but your really buff figure means a lot to lions."

He gave a powerful flex, the muscle shift showing even through the jacket sleeves. "Really? My mom always told me that girls didn't like guys that got too big, but I just ended up like this."

"I have braces and never lost the cub freckles, I think they're permanent and I'm only a second-string cheerleader because I don't flip well. I plan to go into business," Tiifu confessed in one long string.

"Business? Oooh," Chungu smiled a huge, dopey smile, the word seeming to have a soporific effect on him. "I didn't know lionesses knew how to talk to hyenas. Are you gonna work in a big office building? In accounting or middle management? Maybe legal?"

Tiifu was at a loss for words. She effectively had a hulking hunk wrapped around her little claw, something that she had not even dared to imagine before. "Yeah! Yeah... I'm really good at math. I'll probably be a corporate accountant, I'll make big money and be really, super important."

Chungu nearly fell to his knees, face a mask of absolute delight. "You say the best things..."

"Look at that fur-brain of there! I'm surrounded by them! You don't have to give in so easily just because she tells you she's gonna earn a lotta bucks and be a big shot!" Janja shouted at Chungu, to no effect.

"That girl really picked up the patter quick. I've never seen a boy fall so fast," Jasiri said with a grin.

"That kinda thing works on empty-headed guys like these two..." Janja started.

"Can we go already!" Zuri shouted, stomping a paw and pushing her way up to confront Janja. "I'm on this weird multiple date thing, with a guy I can't get anymore, and now my other best friend just managed to find a hunky male that likes that she keeps her nose in books. And it's your fault!" She cried, poking at Janja's chest.

"Me? What did I do? You didn't have to come here? This is Hyenahurst, no Savannah types belong here."

"You brought that super handsome lug here and now Tiifu gets to date the kind of guy she never could. You didn't have to be here either, I'm sure your friend could handle a date."

"Girl hyenas are tough. We're here to keep our pal safe. He's part of my team, so he's my responsibility. When there aren't girls, someone's gotta lead," Janja asserted.

"Another jock that thinks they have to be in charge. What makes you so special?"

"I'm captain of the rugby team and I'm the reason they crush it at games," Janja said with a puffing of his chest, showing off his Hyenahurst Academy tee, which showed some muscular definition beneath. "Why are you here?'

"I got invited out and I was  **not**  gonna stay behind while everyone else got to go out and have fun. I don't just sit things out, I go for it."

"You're really pushy, and you're loud!" Janja huffed.

"Maybe I am! What of it?"

"Can I buy you dinner and get flowers at the corner flower stall?"

"I want that very much, violets and a twist of morning glories," Zuri said, somewhat aggressively taking Janja's arm and pulling him away from the group.

"You knew that was gonna happen, didn't you? Clever boy," Jasiri said, pecking Kion on the cheek.

"I just did what your dad said. Unity, compassion. Figuring out how to end a conflict with peace and love. I knew Zuri was upset that we would never happen, and that Tiifu always liked watching the really physical sports. When you said that big hyena boys had a hard time meeting girls..."

"You figured out that it would be easy if they met girls that liked them in that kind of shape," Jasiri finished, placing another kiss on Kion's cheek. "And now they won't bother you when you come to Hyenahurst with me to visit auntie Shenzi."

"Upendo na amani, Jasiri. I listen to your dad every Frededas," Kion said, leaning against Jasiri as they walked in the procession of couples.

Jasiri looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Have you told your dad yet?"

"Not yet. It keeps slipping my mind because I really don't think it's a big deal. But I probably should. I'm so happy with you I should tell everyone!"

Jasiri gave a half smile and stood a little taller, to just pass Kion's fiery mane. "That's the kind of talk that tells me you're the right kind of soft."

* * *

"Do you know where Zuri and Tiifu are tonight?" Kiara was standing in front of a mirror in the Pride family condo, carefully touching up her fur shading. She used multiple different types of tacky powder sticks and pencils to even out the tone of her head's fur, and put in subtle lines and highlights, mostly of a light shade, with a slight imitation of light dappling. She was being made up to look like a perfectly even tawny lioness under the branches of a tree.

"Well, it's Frededas evening, and neither of them have cheer activities or Sanctuary activities. So I guess they're over at Hyenahurst with Janja and Chungu. And since Janja always goes out with the team Madoa is probably there with Cheezi," Kion answered, sitting on a nearby overstuffed chair, reading a magazine with a cover story announcing  _Interspecies Romances: The Dos and Don'ts of love across the taxonomic line_.

"Yes, exactly. They are out, in Canyonlands, with hyenas. Don't you see how weird that is?"

"Not really. They have a lot in common. Zuri's pushy, Janja likes her for that. Tiifu wants a professional future, and Chungu really seems to like her for that. Janja is a team captain who listens to Zuri, and Chungu is a big, bulky guy who treats Tiifu like she's the best thing since they invented the grub float. I think it's weirder that you date a girl from Happytown. I mean, I like Vitani but she's really different."

"You still haven't told dad. I know, because you're making casual remarks about lionesses dating hyenas, about you dating a hyena. You know that lions usually don't get on with hyenas, right?"

"They say rabbits and foxes used to be the same way but look at those police officers. Tender Fisi tells us that in the watering hole that is the world we have to be willing to live in peace with the neighbor that drinks beside us. Just imagine for a minute if everyone got on your case about Vitani, made snide remarks and told you it was wrong and horrible that you were doing what you were doing."

"What are you talking about? No one in this family would possibly have anything against two lionesses being together. We have gay grandparents, and dad is already aggressively planning our wedding, with way too much detail. She doesn't want all that, though I can probably convince her..." Kiara mused with a short giggle.

"I wasn't talking about her being a lioness. I mean her growing up poor and in Happytown. She's from a bad neighborhood. That makes some folks think she's bad. But we all know she isn't bad. She'll be a great sister-in-law, and I think you already think that Jasiri will be one for you."

"You really do listen at Unification, don't you? Kion... I know I'm not that much older than you, but I've seen and heard more of what dad thinks and feels. You don't really seem to understand how he feels about hyenas. You need to tell him..."

"Tell me what?" Simba appeared, suddenly, from the entry of the condo, looking with narrow eye at his children. He was in a sharp blue business suit, carrying a large fish-leather briefcase. "And what does it have to do with hyenas?"

"He'll tell you," Kiara said quickly, gathering up her makeup into her purse and waving. "I'm meeting Vitani downtown, don't wait up, I'm staying over."

"Aren't you taking anything?" Simba asked.

"Why would I? I have almost as much stuff over there as I do here. I'd say it's good we wear the same size but she never likes my stuff. On her. She loves it on me."

"Please keep it to kissing. Please."

"We always do. Her mother is more strict than you are. Both her brothers don't even date at all."

"I have to go and give her some praise for how well she raised her children given their situation."

Kiara paused a moment, Kion's words actually striking a chord with her. "It's... it's really okay that I'm dating a girl from Happytown, right?"

"What? Why would you ask that?"

"I've heard some folks say that Happytown is a bad neighborhood, and that folks from there are bad..." Kiara started.

"Whoever said that is wrong. Dead wrong. Yes, it was bad for a long time. But now, it's changing. It's getting the help and notice that it deserves. We have to look at the individuals, and that Vitani girl, she's good. She makes you happy, and that's what matters."

Kiara gave a warm smile and hugged her father tightly. She then ruffled Kion's small mane and whispered, "I softened him up. Maybe you'll do alright..." She gave a wave and skipped her way out of the room, leaving father and son alone.

"Now about you..."

"Right! I've been meaning to tell you for a while. You know Tender Fisi at the Sanctuary?"

"Yes, I know him. He can go on for a while but he's a good speaker and manages things well. He really brings a lot of prestige to our Demesne. Why? Have you been doing some work for him over at the Sanctuary?"

"No, not really. I mean, I've helped him around his manse, painting, sweeping, but always with his family because I've been seeing his daughter Jasiri for a while now."

Simba let a look of disgusted shock cross his face without comment, his face going hard and cold as he looked down on his son. "His daughter? For a while now?"

Kion looked on his father with confusion. He had seen many moods on his father, but never that one. He had never been so cold. He looked unfriendly, genuinely harsh. "Yeah. I met her when I was exploring one of the artificial wadis in Canyonlands. I met some guys from the Hyenahurst rugby team and they were being kind of annoying about the latest win, but then Jasiri showed up from visiting her aunt Shenzi and helped to make it less awkward. Then we went to her aunt's condo and ate meerkat food. I think she uses the same cookbooks grandpa Timon uses, or the recipes are just really popular."

"I told you about going into Hyenahurst. I don't care if it's a good neighborhood, it's full of h... arrogant and overly aggressive corporate raiders. That's how they got all that money. That's how they work..."

"Uh, is this about the situation with great-uncle Taka? What he did was... I don't understand it. I know what happened but he just took over the company and made it really successful. He even gave it back to you after you decided you wanted it."

"That act... it destroyed my father. You know what happened to him. His own brother, using a mass of filthy hyena shareholders to oust him. I already told you this. How could you do something like this?"

"Something like what? It's dating. You don't care that Kiara is dating. Jasiri's from a super good family, like you always told me to find."

"I was trying to get you to see that Zuri girl. She's a cheerleader and goes to your school, it's a perfect situation."

"She was... nice. But bossy. I just didn't feel right with her. She's dating someone else now anyway."

"Then her friend, that one with the spots. They're both your sister's friends, so we already know they're the right kind of lions."

"She's... dating someone else too. I helped to find them guys they actually had a lot in common with."

"So you could keep dating that hyena?"

"They met hyenas that liked how they..."

"They what?!" Simba roared, face lined with anger. "And you did it. Why? How?!"

Kion was stunned into near silence by the aggressive and uncharacteristic action. "It was two members of the Hyenahurst Academy rugby team. They bothered me when I was over there, then Tender Fisi reminded me..."

"So he put you up to this? He told you to make lions and hyenas get together?"

"No, he tells everyone about being positive and spreading peace. It's why we go to the Sanctuary, to learn about being good to one another. Don't you believe in everything we learn there?"

Simba snarled, eyes narrowing as he glared at his son. "Don't mock me. I go because it's expected of me and it keeps the social praise going. It's a hard, dangerous world, Kion. You can't believe the things that Tenders or Convokers or Fifs of either gender tell you. They don't live in the real world. And that Tender Fisi, he's poisoning your mind."

"That's not true, he's making it better. I mean, it feels better. We're all happy, things are going good... no wonder everyone asked me if I had told you already. How did they know this would happen?"

"I've had words with that Tender before. He knows how I feel about too much connection between certain species. But he just wouldn't listen. I told him I'd cut off my generous donations but he knows I'd come out looking worse for it. He's got me where he wants me, that despicable, conniving hyena..."

"Dad! This isn't like you! You're the most loving guy I know, why..?"

"Because of what they did, siding with uncle Taka and taking the company from my father. He had a plan and it was wonderful! The stop-loss efforts would have succeeded, he didn't need to be voted out by the board. That board packed with uncle Taka's personal fawning hyenas," Simba growled. "He was a real leader. He didn't deserve anything that happened."

"Dad... he... he killed grandma..."

"They drove him to do it!" Simba retorted.

"He got drunk. You... you told us he started drinking and that he hit you..."

"He was despondent, he had nothing left. He had nothing... it wasn't his fault! It wasn't... he..." Simba looked at Kion with clenched teeth and moist eyes. "End it. End it with that little hyena, and I'll get Kiara to convince her friends to do the right thing. One of them will date you. Maybe we can get you a pride. It's not legal like burrowing but if those rabbits can, you can."

"The Peaceground Association doesn't do that, no one does that. Burrowing isn't even much of a thing anymore, and it's always out in the country. I don't want Zuri and Tiifu to break up with Janja and Chungu, they seemed happy when we went out on group dates..."

"Group dates? With hyenas? Why did Kiara never tell me! She's always been good and obedient..."

Kion hesitated in his reply. Kiara had tried to do him some good, and no matter how often she bothered him he loved her. He didn't want her to get into trouble. But he was too riled up, he needed to get it all out. "Kiara and Vitani went out with us when Tiifu and Zuri met Chungu and Janja. We all went out together a few times."

Simba scowled and turned away from Kion. "I see... go to your room. I forbid you to see that hyena again."

"I'm gonna see her at Unification, and even if not I'm not gonna give her up..."

"Kion! You will mind me, as long as you live under my roof. And we are not going to that sanctuary again. I don't care how it looks, we're going to start going to the Holy Selenic Convocation in the Nocturnal District. Maybe they'll like my donations."

Kion was stunned by all the cascading declarations, his father mutating from a reasonable figure of authority to a complete stranger. "No... dad... you always acted like a good mammal. You love mom, you love us, you've been positive about Kiara dating a lioness, being raised by a gay married couple was nothing for you... why are hyenas still a problem? It was just a business move..."

Simba pointed further into the condo. "Go to your room. Now."

"No. If that's all you're gonna do, I'm leaving. Tender Fisi will take me in. He won't mind. I'll tell Kiara not to come back either. Vitani will be glad to protect her."

"You leave this condo, I'll call the ZPD, they'll pick you up and bring you right back."

"Like they'll invade a Tender's manse to get me," Kion huffed, looking toward the door.

Simba stood firm, still pointing, daring Kion to defy him. Kion looked to the door out, entire body tense, unsure what to do, but knowing he had to do something.

He had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a cascade of worldbuilding today, and the longest story in this series. But also the last one for a while. I need to return focus to Dawn. I hope to be back to this after some more Dawn stories.
> 
> Naturally, all this is a Zootopianized version of Lion King characters, with modifications to adjust for them being in a civilized urban setting. The background of certain things has also changed, just to make things more proper for a modern setting.
> 
> Lion and Hyena culture: This was a big one, something that really stood out and needed focus. The movie taught us that animal nature has translated into culture, such that animals will form their individual societies with respect to their animal natures. It's been hinted in the Dawn stories that male lions are stereotyped as being vain and interested in grooming. As in nature, dark manes are a sex symbol for lions, as are big muscles, originally signs of physically powerful survivors capable of siring strong children. For hyenas, given the way real society works, the ideals would be females being strong, good with leading and considerably more forceful, and males being smaller, slightly effeminate, obedient and retiring. In Zootopia all those natural traits would turn into dating conventions. And of course, since they're sapient creatures, cross-cultural appreciation could rise if a trait that falls badly on one group is an ideal in another.
> 
> Bug-winner and Fish-winner- A sort of Zootopian predator merging of "Breadwinner" and "One who brings home the bacon." There would be tiers of success in the predator community. A bug-winner would be moderately successful, a fish-winner would be quite successful, implying the unseen Mrs. Fisi earns a good wage.
> 
> Manse- In this location that indicates the housing provided for the head Tender (pastor) of a large Peaceground Unitary Church Association Sanctuary, which is on the property of the Sanctuary itself.
> 
> Demesne- Roughly equivalent to a parish, it's the organized area of several sanctuaries overseen by a Council of Tenders. As PUCA is roughly based on a mix of Unitarian Universalism and Presbyterian structural organization, this would be like a Presbytery. All PUCA sanctuaries in the city are united in the Zootopian Watering Hole, the equivalent of a Synod.


	8. Interspecies Relationship Support Network, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick invite Judy's old friends into town.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Eight- Interspecies Relationship Support Network, Part One**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

"You know, Carrots, you inviting a fox into town to stay in our home might make some mammals a little bit suspicious," Nick said, as he stood in his usual garish off-work attire behind Judy. Both of them were at Savannah Central Station, standing on the arrival platform reserved for out-of-town trains.

Judy rolled her eyes and gently elbowed Nick in the side. She was also dressed in her casual off-work attire, which she had saved from her farm stint, a pink gingham shirt over an undershirt and a pair of jeans she had turned into shorts for added comfort. "Relax, slick. It's my parent's new business partner and his friend, who are now sort of... family friends I guess you'd say. And their fiancees. You've met three of them already anyhow, they were at our wedding!"

"I was kind of busy that day being completely stunned! I mean, I was getting married to the bunny of my dreams, and alongside Gazelle and Hu Lin, for that matter. I vaguely remember you introducing me to a... honestly if you had asked me I would have said you introduced me to a henna-covered binturong and some kind of mongoose."

Judy facepalmed lightly and shook her head. "Nick... do I need to go over this again? You take pride in how you used to be a competent conmammal, but missing details doesn't make you look very honest."

"Kind of the idea, but... I must be getting rusty being on the side of law and order. I swear by the gentle glow that I'm losing my capabilities. Still... you may want to refresh me. They're gonna be crammed into our living room and I'll have to remember their names when I'm stepping over them on the way to the refrigerator."

"Oh Nick..." Judy said with a sigh and smile. "Gideon Grey is the business partner my parents have now. They sell him produce and he makes pies and other pastries out of them. You remember he was kind of a bully but he got help at the Solaterra church and now he's an upstanding and important member of the community. His friend Travis Blackpaw was also a bully, but got out of it through education, and the Holy Selenic Convocation helped. He's a local legal expert and accountant, and handles contracts and insurance. Gideon's engaged to an old friend of mine, a ewe named Sharla Ovine. She was almost an astronaut but couldn't make the physical requirements, so she's a data reviewer and engineer for the space agency. Travis is engaged to Ermintrude Dreyson, a squirrel and daughter of the biggest orchard owner in all the Tri-Burrows."

Nick tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So you got a bumpkin baker and a rocket scientist and a backwoods lawyer and a hillbilly heiress. I think I can keep that straight."

Judy turned and gave Nick her most piercing, heated death-stare she could muster. "You say that to any of them and you're going to need to sleep in Finnick's van for the rest of your life."

"Whoa! Cool down, fluff. I know... you married me knowing I've got a sense of humor but sometimes I can be a little broad. Don't worry, I'll be nice to your bullies."

Judy continued to glare, but with less deadly force. "You know they're reformed now. I told you, they're now genuine pillars of the community, to be married to other respectable mammals. Things are really on an upswing out in the Burrows."

"Okay, I get it. But... you say one of them has money, and last time they were here I do recall they stayed in a hotel. Why are we putting them up in our house when they can clearly get something that doesn't involve strange predators and strange prey in my living room?"

" **Our**  living room," Judy said firmly. "That was overnight, after the wedding. And they were part of a contingent from Bunnyburrow, so we couldn't very well have all of them. But they're going to be here for a few days, their schedules just allow it. They need a place to stay and, well, they're a part of my life, in some sense. Sharla always was, even if we lost touch, and Gideon is, now more than ever. Travis and Ermintrude are along because Travis and Gideon are pretty well inseparable, two predators who made it, turned things around and became upstanding members of society. I've been led to understand that a lot of predators are starting to make it, just like in Zootopia."

Nick hmphed softly, looking at the big clock and the train schedule. "I suppose it makes sense. Why didn't we invite them by closer to what we invited them out here for?"

"Because sightseeing is a thing," Judy replied. "Sure, Sharla and Travis were here for education, but Gideon only ever got out here for the wedding. Ermintrude and Travis weren't even dating then, and while I think she comes out here for business stuff, I don't think it's very often, so I figured it would be a nice gesture to give her time to just look around."

"A squirrel... I know weasels can be a little on the short side, like Duke, but a ferret and a squirrel?"

"He's a black-pawed ferret, they're the smaller version, more of a polecat. And she's a fox squirrel, the bigger version. From what I understand they sort of... meet in the middle."

"Well, that's how mammals do it, I guess you could say," Nick said with a sly grin.

"And none of that while they're here. Things are a little different in Bunnyburrow. We have jokes like that but they're not thrown around as casually. Better to just avoid a problem by not potentially making trouble."

"Toublemaking is my thing, Carrots. It's why you married me," Nick whispered, rubbing his muzzle along one of Judy's ears.

Judy gasped softly and took note of others in the station giving them looks that ranged from polite disapproval to big, cheerful smiles. "I married you because I love you, but not for any specific personality trait. There are some I think you could tone down. That's one of them."

"You know you love it," Nick teased, slowly turning her around to get his muzzle up against hers.

"Do I know that? I think I always did," Judy chuckled, pressing her lips gently against his, one soft paw sliding across his cheek.

The sharp toot of the arriving train broke the kiss rather abruptly, sending both of them scrambling to stand up straight. "Oh! Hey! That was quick. Time flies when you snog bunnies. Must be a lot of missed appointments in the sticks."

"Don't use that one either," Judy hissed, her ears dark and her eyes darting about rapidly. "Just be yourself. The, the appropriate yourself, the one you use for company, not the one that sells red wood to construction sites."

"You'll never let me live it down. I should expect that," Nick said with a soft laugh.

The train slowly chugged into the station, letting off another blast to announce its presence. The passengers began to disembark, some walking off with their bags, a few meeting with friends and family. Eventually, four figures stepped off of the train, all of them carrying some type of luggage.

First off was Gideon, looking his best with his straight-part fur puff. He had one khaki slacks and a blue gingham shirt, which was under an apron advertising his shop. Snuggled up at his side was Sharla, her black wool trimmed nicely, her bottom-heavy body clad in something reminiscent of her younger days, a pink-and-white striped shirt and a pair of blue cargo shorts. Travis struggled slightly with his bag, dressed for business casual in black slacks and a weasel-fitted button-up shirt. Besides him, and holding up her share of bags, was Ermintrude, the dark black squirrel with white bands on her face and brush, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a denim vest over it, along with a denim skirt.

Judy rushed forward and hopped up into Sharla's embrace. "Sharla! So good to see you again! Gideon, you're looking really good. Business must be up. Travis, it's great to see you again. And Ermintrude, I'd always heard about you but we never met."

"Well, it's natural the Hopps clan would be known and know everyone, they have enough eyes. Sorry we never socialized, Big Daddy liked to think he was too good to glad-paw around but really, he was just tired. Running an orchard takes a lot out of a body. It's why he had so many kids. But you know about that," Ermintrude said with a soft laugh.

"Do I ever! As soon as you can hold a rake you're a farmer," Judy laughed. "I think we're going to get on perfectly. Ermintrude, you weren't here for the wedding, this is my husband, Nick. He's my partner on the police force."

Nick flicked a languid salute to the four and gave his best grin. "Hope the big city isn't too much for all you folks."

Looks of cobfusion passed between the four, along with shrugs. "Uh, beggin' yer pardon, but we all been here some way or another. Sure it was was surprisin' but it's nice," Gideon said.

"Nick, come on. Rural stereotypes? Sorry, I promise he's just trying to draw a bead on the kind of humor that works for you," Judy said.

"The thing is, Mr. Wilde-Hopps, we're not strictly inexperienced. I've been to the city before, mostly for business. You'll find a lot of Bunnyburrow folks at least visit once in their lives. Who wouldn't? Except Big Daddy. He's inclined to stay at home. But we love him."

"'Big Daddy'? Let me guess, you have a dress made out of curtains and an attic with a relative in it," Nick said with a huge grin.

"I catch your meaning and choose to be amused. No Hopps would marry someone completely lacking redeeming traits," Ermintrude said with a smile.

"I keep trying to redeem him but they say he has no recycling value," Judy quipped, her laughter fading as it got only moderate chuckles from Sharla and Travis.

"Big city jokes don't play down on the farm, Carrots," Nick said, planting a kiss on Judy's nose.

"Much as I like a good comedy routine, can we get to your place? I'm not built to haul cargo," Travis said, adjusting his hold on his awkward baggage.

"Right, right, I have a Zuber waiting. You should enjoy the apartment, we got a great deal on a cervid-grade space," Judy said, hopping ahead of the group.

"Don't meant ta be ignorant, but what's that mean?" Gideon asked speaking softly to Sharla.

"It means deer. Which means it's above need for a fox and very above for a rabbit. That really was a lucky break," Sharla explained.

"A deer space? Merciful Sancta Terra, they sure do have them some good luck."

o o o

"Now all we managed to get was a one-bedroom..." Judy said as she opened the door to the apartment.

"But we just need one bedroom. And one bed," Nick said with a slightly salacious tone.

"Nick! I told you to watch those kinds of jokes," Judy huffed.

"Don't make no nevermind, Judy. It's fine. We make them kinda jokes out in the Burrows too. And we sleep together too," Gideon said, getting a gentle nudge from Sharla.

"We don't just tell things like that," Sharla said with some force.

"Oh Sharla, you can admit that kind of thing. We're in the city. No one will find out I've been with Travis almost as many times as we've had dates," Ermintrude laughed.

"Shh! If Big Daddy finds out he'll have your brothers pound me into a smear!" Travis hissed.

"Oh come on, we're engaged. And he has enough money to track you down if you try and get away. He's completely certain we're going to get married. And if... something happens, I'll be down the aisle before I show too much," Ermintrude giggled, pointing at her belly.

"Wow, jokes have really changed..." Judy said, letting everyone into the apartment.

The space was very much like any standard apartment, with a large open area serving as a living room and small dining room, moving right into a kitchen area with a stove, refrigerator and one-basin sink with a drying rack beside it. Off the living room was a small hallway leading to the bathroom and the bedroom. In the living room there was a large second-paw couch, slightly battered but still puffy. It was off-ivory and made of faux fish leather, pointed toward the equally well-worn entertainment center holding thrift store electronics. A large chair, looking large enough to serve as a loveseat for Judy and Nick, sat beside the couch and matched it in color and material. Behind that was a thin but sturdy table and some mismatched chairs with boosters of various sizes to delineate which was Judy's and which was Nick's. All over the little stands and tables scattered around and on the walls were framed photos. Lots of Hopps rabbits, a few shots of an older, motherly vixen, and miscellaneous pictures of police officers, wedding photos, and candid photos of Gazelle and Hu Lin.

"Sol Invictus..." Gideon said in a breathy tone as he looked around. "Ya can afford this?"

"It's a one-bedroom and the city instituted hard anti-gentrification to reverse the tide of housing price-outs after they started getting Happytown back on its paws," Nick explained, flopping onto the puffy chair and sprawling out.

"My husband, lord of class..." Judy said, holding her head in her hands.

"Lighten up, Carrots. I doubt they're unfamiliar with the idea of relaxing," Nick casually noted.

"Gideon loves to come home and sit down at the TV with a bottle of cider. And I just settle in with him and we turn into vegetables for the evening," Sharla noted.

"There ya go. Your hubby has the right to flop on the chair," Nick chuckled.

"Okay... with that out of the way, we have some sightseeing time today, if you like, and some more days ahead before the big meeting. Any places you always wanted to see?"

"Jaguar always told me about the time he spent in the Rainforest District with his uncle Renato, and I really would love to give it a look," Travis said.

"And I wanna see Tundratown. I gotta get a look at one-a them big fish markets, maybe see about their pastries," Gideon added.

"I'm interested in Sahara Square, if only for the Palm. It looks so interesting, and there's always something going on," Ermintrude said.

"I'll just go anywhere. I was here and saw what I wanted. I'm more interested in space, but, that's a given," Sharla chuckled.

"Well, we can go... wait... Renato... Renato Manchas?" Judy asked.

"Yes, that's him. He's some kind of limo driver," Travis replied.

"He was one of the animals that went savage. He actually chased me and Nick through the district. And we followed him to find the other missing mammals," Judy said. "It's a small world. And he's related to Jaguar from back home?"

"Absolutely. That's why Jaguar was gone for the end of middle school and high school and some time after. He was living here in the Rainforest District. Apparently it's nice, just really humid. Not sure what to think about that. But it's all trees, and I'm learning to love trees."

"Trees are important, and good for business," Ermintrude laughed. "But only if they have fruit. The Rainforest District is all... tree trees. Even as a tree-critter sometimes there can be too much and too many trees."

"Did you all bring heavy coats? Tundratown is no joke. We went there and... well, let's not go into that," Nick chuckled.

"Well, if nothing else we made friends. Fru-Fru is nice," Judy said with a smile. "It's very cold though, even worse than the most punishing Tri-Burrow winter."

"Want me to call up Finnick to give us a tour of Sahara Square? He's from there, he knows all the good stuff," Nick offered.

"He'd hit on both Sharla and Ermintrude then try to get us to scam the casino, and you know it," Judy huffed.

"You have no way of knowing he'd hit on them, he knows how to restrain himself," Nick retorted.

"And the casino?"

"Well, the house can't always win," Nick said with a grin.

"We're not scamming a casino because Finnick misses selling pawpsicles with you. I thought he had a real job now," Judy said.

"Yeah, a boring job. He's doing private security. Sure, there's the  _illusion_  of danger there, but he almost never has to club or tase anyone. He might get into great places, but still, he either needs to be hustling or fighting."

"He hustles those women that give him money and stuff, another reason to just leave him out of things."

"That's different, that's his side job. You know, dancing, the costumes, bored housewives..."

"As I was saying, sightseeing!" Judy shouted, clapping her paws repeatedly to gather all attention. "Let's just head off to one of the smaller venues. We could visit the bamboo gardens and great architecture in Vine Country. That's just south of the Rainforest District. They have great tea shops, all kinds of noodles, and fried bugs on sticks for Nick, Gideon and Travis."

"Hey, I'm always up for Tanukitown. Maybe we'll catch Clawhauser doing karaoke again," Nick said, leaping off of the chair to his paws.

"Just drop your luggage here in the living room, we'll sort it all out later. We can take the tram lines right to it. That's the one big advantage of the city. The public transport goes everywhere, you don't need to scurry or have a car. It helps but you don't always need it," Judy explained.

"I was always provided a car and wasn't here very long. It'll be nice to really see the place," Ermintrude said as she settled down her suitcases.

"I didn't see that much either. And I never had fried bugs before, just roasted, dried and ground," Gideon added, helping Sharla with her case after setting his own down.

"We should have some tea while we're out there. We had a tea place on campus and I got into it. The other engineers always talked about how authentic it was, but still lacking something, and suggested places in Tanukitown. They might still be there, assuming none of them went under," Sharla noted.

"Ya mean hot tea? Hard ta know how I feel. I prefer cold tea, lotsa sugar and lemon," Gideon said. "Maybe with some pastry."

"Gotta try stuff, Gid. It's how you find out if you like stuff," Travis advised.

"Alright folks, form up. I know you're all tourists but try not to look like it, there's plenty of hustlers out to take your money. And I would know," Nick said with a grin.

"It's just lucky you're cute..." Judy muttered, holding her face in both hands.

o o o

"I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's... nice, but very strong," Ermintrude said, sipping slowly from a cup of green tea clouded with what looked like a good amount of cream.

Judy, Sharla and Ermintrude were all sitting at an outdoor table just outside of a shop called the Neko No Seimei Cafe, which had a very stylized look, with a torii arch in front and plenty of kanji on the windows. Standing by the door was a marble statue of of an Iriomote cat in onmyoji garb, though his tail was clearly that of a fox. Other folks were at nearby tables, and the street passing them by was partially screened by carefully tended square planters with tall stands of bamboo placed at regular intervals.

"And you got yours with extra cream and honey. It's just like I remember from university, but they were right. There's just something a little... different, but better. The strong flavor is an acquired taste but it's very herbal, attractive for browsers like me."

"I don't get out here very often and I never tried this place. It's really nice. The bitterness in the tea really makes me think of... chewing on something like licorice root and bitter cress at the same time, but without the anise flavor. That makes it better somehow."

"It goes to show how differences set in. I'm just used to very sweet things like nuts and fruits, rather than leaves and such. But that's how expanding the taste goes," Ermintrude said, giving another long sip at the cup.

"Hey ladies, we're back!" Nick said, stepping out deftly from behind one of the bamboo stands. "The guys really liked the quick tour, and you can see they really loved shopping here."

"Shopping? Nick we... oh come on Nick, really?" Judy asked, confusion turned to incredulity as Travis and Gideon came into view.

Travis and Gideon were both wearing straw sugegasa, tied under the chin, and Zootopia buttons depicting the various major districts as cute female animals representative of them. "Well... I... is this blending in?" Gideon asked,

"They did give us some names that made us sound accepted. Kamaitachi and zenko nogitsune. I guess we fit in better than I thought," Travis said, taking a seat beside Ermintrude.

"I'm almost certain those were names of things from mythology. I think the second one is for fox and probably the first one had something to do with weasels. Loose guess but, makes sense," Nick said, dropping into the seat beside Judy.

"I thought you were going to take them to buy fried insects. Not... tourist junk," Judy hissed.

" **Locally made**  tourist junk, thank you very much. We're supporting the economy and local artisans, and getting these two some fine souvenirs. "

"It's alright. I know this looks... really odd, but not really that bad. There are plenty of fox images with that kind of hat. So at least Gideon blends in. I just take it in the spirit it was given," Travis said.

"That's because you're a sweetheart, and I always knew it," Ermintrude said, leaning in to get under the hat and kiss Travis on the cheek.

"Who's for lunch? They have this great kind of noodle soup here. Different kinds of noodles, different broth, all kinds of crazy toppings. I always forget the name but there's one with fish stock, a boiled egg and fish liver. Fatty, large fish livers. And there's this other kind of restaurant that serves, get this, raw fish. The choicest cuts, and usually red meat! Thinly sliced pieces of the freshest salmon, and tuna too. It's amazing."

"For predators. But they serve vegetarian options too, plenty of those, actually. My favorite is this pointy fried tofu pocket stuffed with rice. They call it a fox ear. Eating one in front of Nick is hilarious."

"They claim it's a good meal for foxes but I'll never turn down fresh fish," Nick asserted.

"I've eaten a lot of noodle dishes, that was the cheapest option at the university. Don't worry, they have vegetarian options too. The mushroom stock is delicious, and it usually comes with tofu and really thick noodles," Sharla said.

"This is proof positive that being rich doesn't always translate into being very worldly. I'm really glad I came," Ermintrude said.

"Well I'm in the same boat, but I'm happy to learn," Gideon said.

"As soon as we're done with this tea, and I feel like I can stand to be seen after Nick got done being Nick, we can go get some food. I'm positive you'll love it," Judy said, blowing on her cup and taking a long, calming sip.


	9. Interspecies Relationship Support Network, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More time in the city for the Bunnyburrow crowd.

**Unbounded Love**

**Story Eight- Interspecies Relationship Support Network, Part Two**

**By: Gabriel LaVedier**

"So, you watch the shell that was rattling, right?" Nick asked, showing of three walnut shells arranged on the kitchen table. Travis, Gideon, Ermintrude and Sharla were all watching as he shuffled the shells around. "After all, that had to be the one with the pebble."

"That's the most sensible thing to do, Sharla said, concentrating hard on one particular shell.

"Yes, that's exactly what a scientist would say. But remember James Jaguarundi, who is the bane of every conmammal that ever lived. He taught scientists that you don't go in expecting regular actions and something mechanical. When you deal with other mammals, you deal with someone that can lie to you. Now, you watched the shell, where's the pebble?"

The four pointed to different shells, Sharla and Gideon choosing the middle, Travis the left and Ermintrude the right. "Well... leastways we gotta be right..." Gideon said with a deep chuckle.

"You never assume when you're dealing with Slick Nick, right, Carrots?"

"I'm not part of this! I'm a cop. You're a cop! We don't teach visitors to the city how to scam others," Judy shouted, trying to read the paper while sitting at the couch.

"I'm teaching them how to guard themselves against getting conned. We won't always be with them," Nick responded, flipping over all three shells and revealing no pebbles. "Never trust your eyes, trust some common sense and know when to walk away."

"But... how?" Sharla asked, picking up the shell she had selected and feeling over it.

"The world is understandable. Mammals can take the time and thought to figure out how to fool you," Nick said. He turned over one shell, shook it and clearly had the sound of a rattling pebble sound out. Flipping it over revealed nothing inside, but another shake made the same sound. He turned up his wrist to show off a small matchbox cleverly concealed with a rubber band hidden by his fur. "Notice I never used this paw for anything except to shake the shell and swap them around. A good conmammal makes it look natural, and always sweeps things away before the mark can think to flip over the others."

"But we saw a pebble, I distinctly remember that," Ermintrude insisted.

"Absolutely you did. It's right here," Nick said, flipping a shell that had previously been revealed, showing off the pebble in question. He pointed between two of his fingers and winked. "Thick fur and practice means it can hide in here. You paw the pebble quick and never let them see it was never covered by the shell by acting fast. Distract them by drawing their eyes to another spot and it's simple to drop it and cover it again. It looks completely legit."

"I should be arresting you, you realize that, right?" Judy asked, sill reading the newspaper with her back turned. "You're holding a seminar on street-corner petty larceny in my kitchen."

" **Our**  kitchen, Carrots. And it's not larceny. It's fraud. And at these levels it's just a tort. Fine and repayment," Nick smoothly said.

"You know, he's right," Travis said. "Zootopian law in particular puts civil fraud losses at five thousand or below. Even the best huckster couldn't clear that in a day. It would always be a tort for small-scale stuff like this."

"Well, assuming you run one gaffle a day, but even then they only total for each offense. By the way, I prefer grifter for this one. Huckster is for the pawpsicle thing. It's a more proper definition."

"Can you turn off your...  _you_  for one day?" Judy asked, her head falling and the newspaper covering her head.

"You know you'd hate it if I stopped being me," Nick said, blowing a kiss to Judy.

"I might. But I'd sure love to see how life goes while you try it..." She sighed and checked the clock on her phone. "Anyone need some extra sprucing up? Time's running close on this."

"Well, I'm all ready. Got my usual Moondas-go-to-convoking outfit," Travis said, proudly showing off. He was just dressed in a pressed white shirt sized for a weasel, and a pair of pressed black slacks. His face was scrubbed, fangs brushed, whole body lightly sheened with weasel body-oil, with a pleasant coconut scent.

"That's the outfit you had on when we got engaged. That's so sweet," Ermintrude said, leaning in to peck Travis on the cheek. She was in her own dressy outfit, a fairly standard Bunnyburrow Sundas dress. It was lilac, with a modest bell that nearly swept the ground, along with a pair of lilac gloves and a broad-brimmed flat-topped, low-crowned hat decorated with plastic peach and pecan flowers.

"Best thing I've got. Convocation clothes. And a little  _Stoaty Sheen_  tropical scent," Travis said proudly.

"Same here, got the Sundas service outfit, all nice and clean," Gideon said, showing his similar black slacks and white shirt, with a plain blue tie about the color of a blueberry. His puff of head fur had been slicked with medicinal-smelling pomade and perfectly parted into two little hills.

"I wish I had something a bit more showy, but I'm just a plain ewe," Sharla confessed. She had on a pair of beige slacks with a fish-leather belt and a white blouse. Over that she had a black wool vest that was more than likely made of her own wool.

"But yer always the best ewe in the cathedral chamber," Gideon said, kissing Sharla on the cheek.

"Is this a good idea? I mean, sure it's Frededas but I don't know many folk that dress up and groom for Sanctuary service. And this is something less formal," Nick said, looking aside at the back of Judy's head.

"Just let it happen, Nick. We like dressing up for important things in Bunnyburrow and this is an important thing for them. It's why we invited them here in the first place. Besides, who doesn't love to dress up now and then?" Judy hopped up from the couch, showing that we was in a light green gymslip over a white blouse and a carrot clasp at her throat in replacement of the top button. "Though this isn't quite dressy. For me this is just church attire. And I never even went to the church school. I just like wearing it."

Nick's jaw dropped, and his eyes almost bugged out as he took in Judy's look, following the pleated skirt as it swayed. Ermintrude laughed softly and gently pressed a finger to Nick's chin, slowly closing his maw. "I actually did go to the church school. The old uniform doesn't fit anymore, but I have one sized for me. Travis really loves it." She leaned in closer and whispered, "I don't wear the blouse when we're together. Or anything else. You have to ask yourself, is she just wearing the blouse?"

"I know that face," Sharla said with a bleating laugh. "Better watch out, Judy. You've got a fox on the run. Gideon doesn't get that look very often but when he does he can get really motivated."

"Ain't no lack of passion 'r nothin'. But some days jes feel different, like when I'm shearin' her, getting' her all trimmed an' smooth in some places, rubbin' in the conditioner lotion, or the regular lotion where she's all sheared..." Gideon slowly grew glassy-eyed and panted softly.

"Foxes are surprisingly visual for a scent-focused species," Judy said with a laugh, while Sharla gently shook Gideon and brought him back to his senses.

"Even scent-focused predators respond to strong visuals. Which is why she still has a gymslip," Travis chuckled.

"Think you can keep your head on straight, slick?" Judy asked, strolling past Nick and tickling under his chin.

"Hey, I'm still the mammal I used to be, I've still got it," Nick insisted, shaking the paw with the matchbox attached and looking around for a moment at the sudden rattling sound.

"At least your colors are muted," Judy said with a chuckle.

Nick was in a pair of white slacks with a muted pastel tropical shirt that was open to show off a white undershirt. "Well, there's no shame in having varied tastes. It's what puts you in a gymslip. And... can we send them to a hotel? I'll pay out of my part of the household money."

"It's in my closet, lovertod. They'll be back in Bunnyburrow soon enough, and I'll be here, with it," Judy teased.

"Ya jes never know how someone'll end up. Judy, I gotta say sorry. I always thought that you'd be... boring. Not that I ever wanted ta date ya, but I wondered 'bout guys ya might date," Gideon said with a sheepish grin.

"It was that cop thing, wasn't it? I mean I like law and order, but I'm still a bunny. Bunnies are good at multiplying."

"Eventually," Nick said. "We'll have a passel of little tykes, but we need to get stable first."

"It's going to happen. We have certain earning goals, and then come the little balls of fluff," Judy said with a smile and spin, making her skirt hem fly dangerously high.

"Let's get moving.  _Fox on the run_  is gonna become  _fox on the bun_  if that skirt spins any higher," Nick insisted, packing his pockets with his phone, keys, wallet and other bits from a bowl on the kitchen counter.

"I still have fox repellant and the fox taser. Dad gave it to me as a wedding gift. Mostly as a joke. Mostly," Judy said, with a laugh running through her words.

Nick clapped his paws for attention and opened the front door. "Single file, everyone, don't lose sight of each other, it's another trip on the metro but this time there's lots of fancy clothing involved and that makes you stand out. Don't make eye-contact, don't engage, and don't listen when they start talking about how they think hairless aliens are ruling the world."

"Now that everyone is scared out of their wits, we can go," Judy said, rolling her eyes and motioning to everyone. "Come on, it's not a long trip but there could be delays for any number of reasons. Better early than late. We can also discuss the rules and such."

o o o

The group of six all exited the tram they had taken from near the apartment to the destination, all with oncredulous stares following them.

"Here I thought city folk were fancy and used ta seein' critters goin' 'round in nice duds," Gideon said, looking back and still seeing eyes on him.

"Only the styles in magazines, only from celebrities and the rich, and always walking down rich streets or stepping into or out of limos," Nick explained, casually walking at the rear of the little procession while Judy took point.

"Well, no matter. They'd have stared for one reason or another, better for out clothes," Sharla said. "I mean, it's fairly obvious what we're doing in a group of this composition. There aren't enough preds or prey to make even couples."

"You could hear them doing the math in their vacant little heads," Ermintrude said with a slightly superior laugh.

"Not every mammal is that enlightened. I think all we can do is ignore it and get on with living our lives," Judy said, pointing out a large building that they were heading toward. "There's the sanctuary, the hall is around back, just like with the Solaterra hall, but this one is  **all**  above ground."

The building indicated started, at its base, in a very ordianry fashion, light adobe-colored bricks rising up in an orderly fashion, but from a base that was painted a rich blue that looked to be enameled so it would shimmer. The windows set into the walls were equally colorful, pictures composed of stained glass, depicting acts of charity and kindness, set amidst environments of bounty and beauty. Halfway up the building undulated, organic waves taking shape and the building itself changing from squared off to round. The whole thing ended up as a broad dome with turquoise inlaid in it to look very much like the sky.

"Well... that surely is something. Sweet sun of the mornin' that's... I can't even think of the words," Gideon said, staring up at the huge, turquoise dome.

"It's a fairly popular and well-funded sanctuary. It's the one we go to because, while the PUCA is accepting in general Tender Fisi is especially involved in this whole thing. His daughter is dating a lion, and she's a hyena. That's like rabbits and foxes."

"So that means they're extremely happy together and have everything they want out of life," Nick casually mentioned.

"It's not that ideal, but the two of them seem happy, all cuddled up in the front row at Frededas Unification ," Judy cooed.

"Half the time they're not alone. There's a little lion and hyena reconciliation project going on, or something. It's cute, I suppose," Nick said with a shrug.

"I really married romance," Judy chuckled. She led them around the building and into the parking lot which served as the lot for a few different buildings all situated on a giant lot. There looked to be a small school on the grounds, along with something that looked like a modest family house, and then a squat but brightly-colored and very long building with a rather new sign on it saying  _Wulfberg-Mouflon Memorial Congregation Hall_.

Other folks were arriving at the place as well, and all of them were just like Judy and her group. Interspecies couples of all descriptions arrived, mostly in very casual clothes. Predators and prey, canids and felids, and other allegedly mismatched combinations made their way into the door.

"Remember folks, first one's free, that's how they get you hooked," Nick warned, with a mock-serious tone.

"Joking aside, it really is free the first time, you just have to give a name so they have it in their records. After that it's modest monthly dues and then fees for any special events you want to participate in. It's really reasonable because the sanctuary donates the space," Judy explained.

"Don't run straight for the food. There's a provided buffet but they check if all you do is load up. Even if you're a member in good standing and a decorated member of the police department..." Nick muttered.

"You were filling up expanded pockets with produce and iced shrimp," Judy flatly responded. "They tend to notice things like that. You're not the only fox in the group."

"No, no I'm not. But I am the best."

"No, Gideon's the best fox. He bakes, he's a teetotaler, he's honest and he loves to clip my wool," Sharla bleated happily, nuzzling against Gideon.

"She makes an excellent argument, you must admit," Judy teased.

"I've gotta say, that's a good list. I don't drink nearly as much as I did when I was grifting around with Finnick, but I still have a drink now and then. Also, Carrots doesn't need shearing. But I do wonder..."

"Keep wondering and you'll be the one sheared," Judy laughed.

They filed their way through the door into a short hall. It was very plain, with beige-toned linoleum tile floors and powder blue painted walls, with florescent lights overhead. Posters lining the walls announced sanctuary events, local services and positive messages in line with the Peaceground philosophy.

At the end of the hall the place opened up into a much larger, general-purpose space, with the same linoleum and blue walls. A long series of tablecloth-covered tables rested against the back wall, laden down with dishes of various kinds. A stage had been set up to the far right, including a podium and microphone, a banner over the it reading  _The Interspecies Relationship Support Network, Savannah East Chapter_. Just inside and to the right was an almost-closed-off section made up of tables, with several mammals having arrivals sign things, or show off cards.

Nick and Judy came up to the intake area first, showing off cards to the raccoon woman that waved them over. She took a glance at a tablet and smiled. "All in order, and I see you brought some guests."

"First timers from back home. They don't have this over there, so we thought it would be be a good experience," Judy explained.

"Oh my, yes. Outlying areas are often very... underserved," the raccoon said, delicately.

"Wuzzat mean?" Gideon quietly asked Sharla.

"It's City-talk for rubes," Travis answered, having caught the question.

"It's City-talk for not having all the things a city does," Sharla corrected, somewhat sternly.

"Well, she ain't wrong. We don't have somethin' like this. Sun and earth knows we could use it. I mean, your partner's seein' the new doctor, and she's a bear," Gideon whispered aside to Travis.

"Yeah, yeah... you've got me there..." Travis mused as he stepped up to the table and started filling in the forms he had been given.

The meeting started shortly after that, with everyone gathering by the podium. An opening speaker made announcements about upcoming events like a romantic cruise and a dinner. Other matters passed quickly enough and eventually the speaker, a gnu, announced, "We have some visitors with us this meeting. They're out-of-town visitors who wanted to find a warm and accepting environment. As ever, let's have them come up to discuss their experiences and their relationships, if that's acceptable to them."

Ermintrude was up and heading to the podium as soon as they were called on, Travis trailing her after scrambling to rise. It took Gideon a moment, and soft words from Sharla before both of them made their way up, all of them getting a polite round of encouraging applause.

Ermintrude took the podium first, after finding a riser setting that suited her. "Hello, all you good mammals. My name is Ermintrude Dreyson. I suppose that means little in the city but if you've bought tree-fruits or nuts you may have seen Dreyson Family Farms on the box. I am here, as you can see, with this handsome black-pawed ferret, who will speak for himself in due time.

"In Bunnyburrow things are as difficult as folks want to make them. My dear father had something of a problem with all burrowing creatures, not just Travis. But it was mostly show. He wanted to see who really loved me. Helped that I've loved Travis since he was a trouble-making kit. Having money, especially in a smaller place like that, really helps things out. Everyone loves to be deferential, however they might actually feel. That's inauthentic, but also insulating. It make it feel a bit wrong to even be here. But then again, authentic support, which I can just feel from all of you, feels so much better than a show of admiration for a rich mammal. Travis, care to add to it?"

Travis stepped up to the microphone and tapped it lightly. "I'm not sure what to say. I have enough going on being a predator in a very prey-slanted place. But I just... I always knew I was an Outsider, but more than that, that I wanted to be with Ermintrude. A rich, locally-powerful prey woman. I didn't think I'd have a chance. But she said why. We have different romantic division is the country. Traditional categories like tree-critter and burrower matter. But Big Daddy Dreyson looked past it, and saw that I was good. That Ermintrude loved me and, well, that I was a pillar of the community.

"She's right about how much help money is. Folks that would have looked down on a predator smile, because of her money and influence. It really is nice to have folks that understand. It's why I appreciate Ermintrude, and my best friend Gideon over there with his fiancee, and my business partner who's dating out of his species too. But we don't have anything like this group. I just got here, and knowing that all of you understand really makes me feel so good. I think we could use something like this out there in the Tri-Burrows... hey, Gideon... I know you're busy with work and all, so am I. But I think I've got an idea."


End file.
